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It’s that time of year when we give thanks. Even with the hustle and bustle of the holidays approaching, it seems we find those few extra hours to give of ourselves or the few extra dollars to put into Santa bell ringer’s pots. I have a friend that delivers food baskets, another wraps presents at the mall with all the proceeds going to charity.I’d like to take just a few moments of my own to say thank you. Thank you to the volunteers at the local clothing or food drive. Thank you to the mom’s that contributed to their children’s school bake sale. Thank you for putting your change in the give a penny/need a penny jar at the counter. Thank you for paying it forward by buying a cup of coffee for the person in line behind you.
And thank you for your volunteerism. Thank you most of all for giving of yourself at this time of year and throughout. I believe that what you give comes back many times over.
Vicki Steere is the Executive Director of the Jobing Foundation, dedicated to supporting our current and future workforce. She is speaking next Friday, December 5th in Phoenix, Arizona on The Right Thing: Positive Affects of Corporate Social Responsibility on Employment Brand (pre-approved for 2.0 Strategic HRCI credits).
Watching this video from Pursue the Passion reminds me why the Jobing Foundation exists. We’re here to help people find a passion for their career. It’s in all of us to find that one thing that makes us get enthusiastic about what we’re doing. There is a link between what we love as a child to career success.
Please join us in helping our current workforce find their passion by not settling. It’s okay to take a job for necessity, but uncover the piece of that job that fits your passion and grow with it.
And join us in helping our future workforce discover it earlier in life. Experience Your Future Day is one way that companies can get involved. No… you’re not recruiting 8th graders. I believe its our responsibility to ensure that our youth understand the connection, the link between their education of today to their jobs of tomorrow. We can work together to help our youth discover their passions earlier on.
The first annual Experience Your Future Day will be held Thursday, April 30, 2009 at the University of Phoenix Stadium. 7500 Phoenix area 8th grade students will meet with employers and post-secondary educators to see what it’s really like to work in a variety of fields and what education they need to get there.
This week I met a gentleman by the name of Van Walling. He is an engineer, a building expert, and a passionate advocate for helping students and employers both understand the importance of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). As a nation, we’re falling behind globally in competition in this area. While working full time for CH2M Hill, he started volunteering for Engineers & Scientists of Milwaukee, Inc. Yes, he’s a Wisconsin guy, so why am I talking about it in Phoenix? Because the need is here and he, along with many other experts in the field, believe that it’s a need we have throughout our country.According the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 6 out of 10 of the highest growth positions in the next 10 years will require a post secondary education. This means that the jobs are changing. We are requiring our workforce for have a greater skill level in order to compete. Richard Hansen, Associate Director for Center for Workforce Development at Maricopa Community Colleges, told me he attended a conference where the speaker at a manufacturing plant said, “We no longer need people to run the machines… We need people that can keep the machines running.”
Van Walling told me that he believes we can all do a small part. Whether it’s advocacy, volunteering, providing a small donation to the local schools or organizations that have an interest in this area, or in-kind services, every individual, business, and educational institution can get involved. Adopt a school, mentor a student, talk to your neighbors.
I asked Van, so employers are certainly not hiring 5th, 6th, 7th, or 8th graders, why get involved at this level? He said “No, we’re not hiring the 5th grader, but by getting involved here and encouraging students to be engaged… to see the connection between what they are studying today to their future, we’re helping to build a bigger pie. Employers can collaborate today, compete tomorrow. In other words, collaboration between employers in any industry helps students get excited in their formative years. Then when there’s more accessible and trained workers in that area later, they can then compete to gain the best from that enlarged talent pool.”
I took a lot from that message. Collaborate Now… Compete Later.
Vicki Steere is the Executive Director of the Jobing Foundation, and is committed to helping prepare both the current and future workforce for the needs of business. One program of the Jobing Foundation is Experience Your Future Day. 7500 8th grade students will visit Experience Your Future Day on Thursday, April 30, 2009 at the University of Phoenix Stadium to meet local employers and learn what it’s really like to work in those industries and professions. The event is open to employers and educators in all industries.
