March 8, 2022
New Career Pathways Program for Wake County Students Seeking Business Partners for Summer and Fall 2022
RALEIGH, N.C. — WakeEd Partnership (WakeEd), a business-backed nonprofit organization committed to supporting teachers and students in Wake County, is seeking business partners of any size and from all industry sectors throughout the Wake County area to support its new education and workforce development initiative “Accelerate” aimed at helping students explore career opportunities as well as the education and skills needed to get there.
WakeEd needs companies who are willing to host students and teachers for immersion experiences, either in-person or in hybrid virtual formats. WakeEd is also in need of guest speakers and panelists to lead workshops for students focused on career pathways, job education requirements, interview skills, resume/LinkedIn profile building, and more.
“This is a unique opportunity for businesses to work directly with students, to show them what jobs exist here and how they can be better prepared to fill them,” said Keith Poston, President, WakeEd Partnership. “Nearly every company says they are having challenges finding employees or candidates with the right skills. Their future workforce can be right here in North Carolina’s largest school district, but we need business partners who can help our students find the right path and the direction to their front door.”
WakeEd Partnership’s Accelerate initiative brings together both new and existing workforce-focused educational programs that will help Wake County students become more future-ready for any career and college opportunity.
Career Accelerator, developed in partnership with the Wake County Public School System, will be offered to approximately 1,000 rising 10th –12th grade WCPSS students this summer. The program seeks to engage students in a deeper understanding and development of workforce-readiness, helping students better know themselves and how their current high school trajectory is helping them prepare for the workforce and post-secondary careers. Another program starting in the fall, Career Exploration, looks to provide 7th grade students with short burst immersion experiences, allowing them to see an industry partner in a more holistic way, exploring different career pathways that may exist in a company and what it takes to get there.
If you would like to learn more about how your business can get engaged, visit our website or contact Douglas Price, WakeEd’s Director of Programs, at dprice@wakeed.org.
About WakeEd Partnership
WakeEd Partnership is an independent, nonprofit organization composed of business and community leaders committed to improving public education. Since 1983, the Partnership has advocated for excellent educational opportunities for all students in the Wake County Public School System. For more information, please visit www.WakeEd.org.
