| With the expansion of technology-based activities - and the pending
retirement of a significant portion of today's working population
- critical shortages are looming for many industry sectors. An increasing
number of employers believe that human resource planning requires
a broader, longer-term approach that includes participation in career
awareness activities at the secondary school level.
Between 1997 and 2002, the TechWORKS! Secondary School Work Experience program worked with school districts and industry to provide a stable structure through which employers developed quality work experience placements and matched these with the right students. TechWORKS! became a predictable and professional one-stop-shop for planning and matching placements throughout the year. Each employer set the terms of the placement, including duration, timing and learning outcomes. TechWORKS! staff worked with the school districts to find students that matched. Twenty-two of British Columbia’s fifty-nine school districts partnered with TechWORKS! to make linkages to hard-to-find work experience opportunities. The program philosophy was to share placements between districts over time, maximizing the number of students and career staff who are exposed to these valuable opportunities.
|
One
of the most effective ways to attract the attention and commitment
of future technical employees is to offer quality work experience
opportunities to secondary school students.
