Career Readiness Workshops
Getting You That Internship
More than 80 high school students came from all over the county to attend our Career Readiness Workshops at the DoubleTree Hilton in Burlingame and Embassy Suites in South San Francisco this month. The students were joined by 55 industry partners from various companies, including Kaiser Permanente, SFO Fly, the Electrican’s Union, Accenture, and Box, who conducted mock interviews and gave immediate feedback to students.
The students were “spot on” and were “really prepared to answer questions,” according to the industry volunteers. Some of the students’ feedback were, “It helped teach and demonstrate important ideas that the schools don’t teach us,” “The mock interview was very helpful for teaching me how to interview without the stress of whether or not you'll get the job,” and “Overall, the workshop was extremely helpful and helped me develop skills that I know I’ll be able to utilize in the future! If you could spread word about this to more schools and reach out to more students that would be great and beneficial to many more people. Thank you for this amazing opportunity!”
We want to express our deep gratitude for these dedicated professionals who volunteered to help students develop their interviewing skills. Some of the feedback we received from our industry partners were, “Do more of these! Thanks to the hotel! I hope we can do these in more locations,” “The students were very prepared, and they asked me some very relevant questions. Not so much about the job, but more about interviewing techniques and advice”, and “Thank you for the opportunity. This is an awesome program!”
A special note of thanks goes to Mya Swander of Embassy Suites, Hilton Worldwide, as she sits on many of our boards, is super motivated to ensure students receive these opportunities, and is a genuinely nice person. Thank you, Mya, for all you do for students in San Mateo County!
More pictures
|
|
SPOTLIGHT
HALF MOON BAY HIGH SCHOOL Career Technical Education (CTE)
AGRISCIENCE PATHWAY
Half Moon Bay High School (HMBHS) and its Agriculture and Natural Resources Program has much to celebrate as it approaches National Future Farmers of America (FFA) Week, February 22 to 29, and the 75 th anniversary of its FFA Charter.
The program is able to prepare students for success due to the strong support it receives from the agriculture industry and the Coastside community. It has also developed a unique collaborative partnership with the high school’s science department to build students’ foundation in agriscience. There are three integral components to the program: classroom and laboratory instruction and learning, supervised work-based experience, and participation in FFA.The Ag program has seen many changes over the years as it adapts to meet the needs of its students, the community, and the agriculture and natural resources industries. It has done so with the strong support of its local Ag/FFA Boosters, which are made up of Ag Program and FFA alumni, parents, industry representatives, and staff.
Recently, the Boosters had the foresight to initiate a five-year atrategic plan, which included goals, actions, resources, and timelines to keep the program sustainable and relevant. The plan was approved by the Ag/FFA Boosters and Ag and Natural Resources Advisory Committee in May 2019 and was approved by the Cabrillo Unified School District Governing Board on November 7, 2019.
A Shout Out to a couple of our Ag Education supporters:
The HEAL Project: The HEAL Project (THP) staff serve on our Agriculture and Natural Resources Advisory Committee and provide outstanding service to our children, educators, and community through hands-on learning experiences. Check out coastsider Roger Hoppes’ blog, which includes a post on the “Evolving Value of School Farms.” THP’s field trip program fees are determined by a sliding scale based on the percentage of students receiving free and reduced lunch at your school, with no cost to schools with the highest needs. More details can be found on SMCOE's Environmental Literacy Providers page.
TomKat Ranch: TomKat Ranch is an 1,800 acre grass-fed cattle ranch that emphasizes regenerative and sustainable agricultural practices. Its staff serve on the Agriculture and Natural Resources Advisory Committee, host FFA leadership team officer retreats, and offer educational resources.
|
|
Work-Based Learning in Action
What better way to honor CTE Awareness Month than to highlight work-based learning (WBL), an educational strategy that provides students with real-life work experiences? WBL is the juncture where students apply their academic knowledge while developing their employability skills. According to the National Skills Coalition, there are four components of WBL:
- Paid work-based learning opportunities, with wages provided either through the employer, provider, or a combination of the two.
- Strong partnerships with business and other community stakeholders.
- Positive youth development and continued support services.
- Linkages to career pathways, either through future employment opportunities or future education and training opportunities.
The many types of WBL activities include job shadows, field trips and, of course, the gold standard—internships. An internship teaches students not only what they must “do” in order to receive pay, but also helps them realize the relevance of their education.
Speaking of internships, we are proud to announce summer 2020 internships from local businesses.
The San Mateo County Office of Education (SMCOE) began its internship program in summer 2016 with seven interns placed around the office. It was a pilot program and we were not sure of the outcome, however the students exceeded our expectations. All of the staff were pleased with the support they received and felt good about working and mentoring our local teens.
In the second year, the San Mateo County Dental Society and our CTE Department partnered to offer its first non-educational internship opportunities. In the third and fourth year, we continued to grow and add new industry partners. This year, the fifth year, we are proud to announce 16 industry partners, including Bright Horizons, MidPen Media Center, the San Mateo County Event Center, SamTrans, and Peninsula Family Services. If your company is interested in learning about hosting a high school student as an intern this summer, please contact Dr. Vera Jacobson at vjlundeberg@smcoe.org.
|
|
|
The application process for summer 2020 internships is now open. Please encourage students to check out the SMCOE website to explore what summer internship might be of interest! Applications are due March 27. Please check out www.smcoe.org/internships.
Let’s keep our kids in our community and teach them how to work.
|
|
|
For more information on Career and Technical Education in San Mateo County, please contact:
|
|
|
|
|
|
