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Workforce Readiness News Last
Updated 2/14/2007
by Debra Quinn, Chair of HRM-RI Workforce Readiness Commmittee
SHRM and Ground Hog Job Shadow Day
Kicking off annually on February 2, Groundhog Job Shadow Day is a part of a year-long national effort to enrich the lives of students by acquainting them with the world of work through on-the-job experiences and a carefully crafted school curriculum that ties academics to the workplace. SHRM participated in and sponsored the program this year.
Job Shadowing gives over one million students across America the opportunity
to "shadow" a workplace mentor as he or she goes through a normal
day on the job. This gives young people a chance to see how the skills
they learn in school relate to the workplace.
Ground Hog Shadow Day...
- Demonstrates the connection between academics and careers;
- Builds community partnerships between schools and businesses;
- Introduces students to the requirements of the profession;
- Encourages an ongoing relationship between young people and caring
adults;
- Encourages that students in need of additional services are linked
to the appropriate programs.
For more information and an online How-To Guide providing you with information,
tips, and other materials needed to coordinate a successful job shadowing
event, go to www.jobshadow.org or contact Lee Lewis, President of
RI Junior Achievement at
401-331-3850 x 13, llewis_rija@att.net.
In its tenth year, national Job Shadow Day is a coordinated effort of America's Promise - the Alliance for Youth, Junior Achievement, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM),the Association for
Career and Technical Education (ACTE), and the U.S. Department of Labor.
Volunteer Opportunity: Judges Needed for Senior
Projects
This article contributed by Ken Cahill
As part of the new Statewide rigorous education requirements, high
schools in Rhode Island must decide how they are going to challenge
all students, especially seniors, as they prepare to graduate.
Among the options is the Senior Project (also called Senior
Presentation, Senior Demonstration, etc.) In schools using
this criteria, each senior must choose a subject and prepare
a research paper on that subject (under mentoring).
The final
measurement of their accomplishment is an 8 - 12 minute presentation
of their subject area. While several
high schools across the state have chosen Senior Project as
their measurement, only Classical High School and the Providence
Academy of International Studies have decided to pursue that
route.
In order to provide "real world" evaluation of the presentation,
each student's presentation will be judged by a panel of five
judges (one from the school staff and four from the outside
community). The commmitment of the judge includes attending
an orientation to become familiar with the evaluation rubric
(an educational evaluation tool) and the scenario in which they
will judge.
Approximately 70 judges are needed who can commit May 11th
to this task. After a welcoming "coffee and", the judges will
go through an orientation and have lunch. From about 1 pm to
3 pm, each judge will b part of a five judge panel in a classroom,
judging the presentations of five senior students from the Providence
Academy of International Studies.
To volunteer as a judge,
please contact Ken Cahill as soon as possible at
401-295-2838
or Kencahill@cox.net.
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The judges
must commit to being at the school from 9 am to
3 pm on May 11th. If you have even the smallest doubt about
being able to make it,
please do NOT volunteer.
For those who can make
the commitment, this volunteer opportunity
promises to be challenging and interesting experience.
Employee Training Funds Available
The Governor's Workforce Board is getting ready to launch the 2007 Comprehensive Workforce Training
Grant Program. $2,000,000 has been allocated for employee training projects. All employers that pay
into the Job Development Fund (except those that received a Round One or Round Two 2006 Workforce
Improvement Grant) are eligible to apply for up to $50,000 in matching funds to train their
existing workforce.
IMPORTANT DATES
Applications Available - January 8, 2007
Proposals Due - February 16, 2007
Grant Awards Announced - March 2007
Training to Begin - April 1, 2007
Applications can be downloaded from www.rihric.com
If you are not interested in applying this year, please consider serving
as a reviewer to read and score the applications. This gives
you an inside look at how the funding decisions are made.
If you have any questions, contact Nancy Olson (462-8733) nolson@dlt.state.ri.us or
Mavis McGetrick (462-8862) mmcgetrick@dlt.state.ri.us.
March Smartness 2007: Rhode Island's LifeSmarts Competition
LifeSmarts is the ultimate consumer challenge -- a fast-paced, quiz show
format com-
petition that rewards students (grades 9
- 12) for their knowledge of critical consumer information in areas
such as personal finance, health and safety, environment, tech-
nology,
consumer rights and responsibilities.
March Smartness 2007, Rhode Island's
LifeSmarts Competition, will be held
on Friday, March 2, 2007, at the Rhode Island College Faculty Center.
Due to limited
space, the competition is not open to the public.
Sponsors make LifeSmarts in Rhode Island free of cost to teenagers
throughout the state, without the burden of selling candy-bars
or magazines. Students from all walks
of life deserve the opportunity
to compete to become our state champion and represent Rhode Island
at the national LifeSmarts competition. To learn more about how
your company can become involved as a sponsor, download this PDF
from the LifeSmarts website: http://www.marchsmartness.org/sponsorship.pdf.
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