The Association for Career & Technical Education (ACTE) designates February “CTE Month” each year to raise awareness about CTE programs and their benefits. As part of CTE Month, work-based learning coordinators Teresa Mills (Rensselaer Educational Center, Troy) and Joan Rogers (Columbia-Greene Educational Center, Hudson) share about their job and how they help students enrolled in Questar III’s CTE programs get real experience in their chosen fields.
What do you do in your role as work-based learning coordinator?
Teresa: In our capacity as Work-based Learning Coordinators, we work closely with staff, students, and local businesses to ensure a meaningful internship for each student.
Tell us about the work you do interfacing with business partners.
Teresa: Interacting with local business partners is one of the most exciting aspects of my position. Not only am I able to learn about all of the remarkable businesses that thrive in our community, but I also get watch our successful business partners train our students, the same young adults who will someday work in many of these industries.
What do the students get out of work-based learning?
Teresa: Our students gain so much from participating in a work-based learning experience, such as linking what they learn in school to the skills and knowledge needed for real-world careers. Furthermore, the students hone skills that will prove valuable in every aspect of their lives, such as communication, good manners, and time management. Moreover, the sense of pride that comes with successfully completing a workplace learning experience cannot be duplicated in the classroom.
Joan: In addition to some great experience, students often receive positive feedback from employers that help to guide them as they choose their college or career path after high school. In some cases, the job experience can redirect a student to another branch of the field they are studying, or even an entirely different field.
What benefits do businesses get from partnering with Questar III and participating in work-based learning?
Teresa: Our business partners are training some of their future employees! Furthermore, they are seeing how Questar III’s Career and Technical Education programs develop students that are both college and career ready.
Joan: When businesses take on a student for the week, they are really committing to training that young adult and “showing them the ropes”. Often I hear an employer say about the student, “He reminds me of me when I was younger. I wish I had an opportunity like this when I was in school”. Many employers take pride in devoting time to the interns because they believe it is worthwhile. They have a unique opportunity to have a positive effect on potential future employees.
What are some examples of work-based learning activities that students have completed in recent years?
Teresa: Our Aviation Maintenance students all completed internships at the 109th Air National Guard Base in Scotia. Many of our students continue to complete internships at various business throughout the region. We have developed a new program at the Rensselaer Educational Center called Career Exploration, and the students in that program go to the Unity House to intern in various departments.
Joan: We are constantly setting up new internships and approving new sites regularly. This year we have students in our Media Communications program in Catskill going to WMHT in Troy to learn about radio and television production, some students from Welding, Aviation and AIT do an internship at the 109th Air National Guard Base in Scotia. Local police departments, auto shops, construction companies, salons, stores, even Columbia Memorial Hospital provide internships. Regional and national stores nearby such as Price Chopper, NAPA Auto Parts, McDonalds, Herrington’s, Ginsberg’s and TJ Maxx provide internships for our Career Studies classes.
How do you envision the future of CTE and business partnerships?
Teresa: At the Rensselaer Educational Center 100 percent of recommended students are placed in internships throughout the region. Many students are offered employment upon completion of their internships. Since 2010, 770 students have been afforded internships at REC, not including the present school year.
Joan: Each year the number of businesses who participate in WBL increases. Each year the number of students who participate in internships increases. It does not happen overnight. The process of finding, securing, and executing any internship takes a lot of effort by many people. Sometimes it really feels like “juggling”. It takes everyone doing their part to really make it happen! We are extremely grateful to the businesses who participate in Work-Based Learning, and feel a true partnership with them. Like any good relationship, I see it growing over time.
Teresa: Without a doubt, I see our partnerships growing and flourishing. I am very excited to be a part of this initiative.
