Employer Engagement

Host students or educators inside workplace to learn about the business, company culture, and observe work in progress.

Benefits:

• Amplify the connection between school-based skills and the essential skills needed in a profession.
• For Educators: Awareness of professions for career advice and how to make academic standards relevant.

Preparation:

• Route the tour 
• Prepare the main points
• Make accommodations for security and logistics
• Solicit key staff

Time Commitment: 2-5 hours planning time + 1-2 hours onsite hosting

Professionals participate in school-based classroom activities or an event focused on understanding a range of career options.

Benefits:

• Create awareness of future careers.
• Amplify the connection between school-based skills and the essential skills needed in a profession.

Preparation:

• Identify subject matter experts
• Prepare summary of personal learning, career journey
• Prepare summary of company and/or industry.

Time Commitment: 2-4 hours planning time + 30-60 minutes of engagement

Engage with students in-person or virtually either one on one or in a small group settings to build relationships and answer questions about careers and professional skills.

Benefits: Build communication skills and social capital.

Preparation:

• Identify subject matter experts
• Develop sample interview questions
• Consider adding a mini-tour

Time Commitment: 2-4 hours planning time + 2-6 hours host time

Engage with students one on one or in small groups to give real-time insights into what a ‘day in the life’ in a career or within a company involves.

Benefits:

• Student awareness of career options, pathways, preparations and requirements
• Build social capital.

Preparation:

• Make accommodations for security and logistics
• Create an agenda that provides a range of things to see, people to meet and skills to learn.

Time Commitment: 2-4 hours planning time + 2-6 hours host time

Provide authentic projects for students to complete individually or in small groups that allows for coaching and engagement with professionals along the way. 

Benefits:

• Develops student essential skills and technical skills aligned with career options within the industry.  
• Provide access to a growing and developing talent pool
• Create mentoring relationships and strengthen leadership skills in current associates
• Opportunity to collaboratively select real-world problems for students to engage in

Preparation:

• Determine problem statement and dates of interest in project engagement.
• Coach through project design process, provide engagement and feedback during project cycle 
• Participate in project evaluation

Time Commitment: 2-4 hours planning time + 8-10 hours engagement (site visit, project check-ins & review)

CCP Process Planning Worksheet >

Engage with educators 1:1 or in small groups to show what a ‘day in the life’ of a job or industry involves.

Benefits:

• Develop educator awareness of career options, pathways, and preparation requirements  
• Builds social capital

Preparation:

• Experience planning,
• accommodating security and safety requirements 
• Optional: Coordination between public affairs teams

Time Commitment: 1-4 hours planning time + 2-6 hours host time

Educator Externship Guide >

Provide student internships (may be paid or unpaid) that allows them to perform real work activities under the supervision of current professionals.

Benefits:

• Develop student essential skills and professional skills aligned with the industry.
• Develop pipeline of potential future associates calibrated to company expectations.
• Strengthen connection between classroom and real-world application
• Opportunity for students to receive compensation for their contributions (eg. financial or school credit.

Preparation:

• Recruiting and placement process, on-boarding, continuous feedback process, evaluation.  
• Potential background checks required 

Time Commitment: 24-40 hours of preparation for student internship of 120+ hours.

Provide paid apprenticeships with on-the-job training as a pathway to full-time employment within the company.

Benefits:

• Develop student essential skills and professional skills aligned with the industry.
• Develop pipeline of potential future associates calibrated to company expectations  
• Strengthen connection between skills learned in the classroom and real-world skills learned in an authentic professional environment
• Potential for funding through Department of Labor

Preparation: Recruitment and placement process, on-boarding, continuous feedback, and evaluation.

Time Commitment: 40-60 hours of preparation for apprenticeships of 1,000+ hours

Host courses, learning or professional events, and/or provide real-world equipment or other resources needed to support authentic learning environments. 

Benefits: Provide authentic opportunities for students to learn as they build knowledge and practice about the profession

Preparation: 

• Secure physical space,
• accommodation for security, and safety requirements

Time Commitment: 2-4 hours planning time, daily presence with some oversight