To encourage middle school students to work with local employers to try out future careers, Governor Roy Cooper has declared March 19 - 28, 2018 as Students@Work℠ Week in North Carolina. During this 8-day career awareness blitz, at least 160 employers from across the state will open their doors, link-in virtually, or send representatives to schools to provide more than 29,000 middle school students with exposure to jobs and industries.
“Real-world experiences like visits to worksites and guest speakers at schools help students uncover jobs they may not have even known exist,” Gov. Cooper said. "We’re working to make North Carolina job ready, and opportunities like Students@Work are a critical first step for students towards a successful career pathway.”
Governor Cooper will visit three Students@Work events over the next two weeks, including at the Blockade Runner Resort in Wilmington where local students will learn about hospitality careers, at Mission Hospital in Asheville where local students will learn about health care careers, and at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord where local students will learn about sports marketing careers.
Students participating in Students@Work 2018 will be exposed to careers in the education, energy, finance, health care, hospitality, legal, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, retail, and technology industries along with careers in the public sector. There will also be a virtual component aimed at expanding access to schools in more rural parts of the state, piloted in partnership with Nepris. Through virtual Students@Work events, industry leaders from businesses such as Novozymes, Google, IBM and UNC Hospitals will talk to students from across the state, explaining what they do and answering questions.
Since 2011, more than 176,000 middle school students have participated in the Students@Work program, which is a partnership between the North Carolina Business Committee for Education, a nonprofit housed in the Governor’s Office, and the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.
Gov. Cooper recently announced NC Job Ready, his priorities for making sure North Carolina’s workforce is ready for the jobs of today and tomorrow. Increasing opportunities for work-based learning are a key part of his initiative.
Career Awareness is the first stage of work-based learning, which includes career awareness efforts like Students@Work, career exploration, and career experience, and strengthens our state’s talent pipeline by enhancing important employability and technical skills.
For more information about Students@Work℠ Week, visit www.ncbce.org.