On February 11th, an article about what Ohio is doing to keep young people in the state and keep Ohio vibrant and economically stable in the future was published in the repository.
The Stark Education Partnership addresses this need very specifically here in Stark County. The institution is a nonprofit organization focused on local education and has been established and historically supported by local philanthropic foundations.
Its vision is to help local high school graduates pursue careers in Stark County by first understanding their unique interests and abilities and then discovering local career opportunities that intersect with those interests and abilities. It's about enabling you to reach your full potential.
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Stark Education Partnership takes a very intentional and strategic approach when working with our partner schools and businesses. Students can use YouScience, a career exploration tool, to gain insight into both their career interests and career aptitudes and abilities.
They are then referred to local employers whose workforce needs match their interests and aptitudes. Students gain exposure to local businesses through both in-school and on-site opportunities, including career speakers in the classroom, career fairs, job fairs, field trips, job shadowing, internships, apprenticeships, and even job offers.
The goal is to identify pathways that lead students to career fulfillment right here in Starke County.
This program is designed to introduce students whose career path includes higher education at a technical school, college, or university to the variety of options that exist in Stark County and to help them pursue higher education. We will make sure that you can enter the school with peace of mind. Gain a clear understanding of what it takes to realize your career aspirations.
These intentions and objectives help ensure that students are prepared to complete their courses, graduate, and subsequently find employment closer to home.
The Stark Education Partnership recently analyzed the results of the YouScience Career Tool for 3,655 Stark County students and identified areas where significant gaps exist between student interest and aptitude.
Results show that in advanced manufacturing and health science fields, levels of aptitude are much higher than student interest. However, in Stark County, advanced manufacturing and health science jobs are consistently recognized as high-demand jobs, with more jobs available to fill than qualified workers.
At the very least, this shows that we can better introduce students to these high-demand career fields through videos, site visits, job shadowing, and internships. Additionally, with the participation of local employers, students can experience the many and diverse local job opportunities available in these fields.
Several community-minded groups collaborated, including local chambers (Alliance, Canton Region, Massillon), Stark Economic Development Commission, Stark County Educational Service Center, Stark Enrichment, Stark County Manufacturing Workforce Development Partnership, and Charitable Foundations. I am.
These groups work with countless individuals and organizations, both educational and business, to make Stark County a better place for everyone. As a community, we can do more to improve the relationship between education and business, with the goal of enriching the lives of individuals while improving the future of our local economies.
For more information, please contact Stark Education Partnership at info@edpartner.org.
John Richard is chairman of the Stark Education Partnership in Canton.
