Teens to get real-world education

Teenagers have a lot on their minds these days. And chances are they’re only spending a fraction of their time pondering how they’ll support themselves after graduation.

A new local project — aimed at high school students, teachers and guidance counselors — aims to fill the void.

“A lot of parents and kids don’t really know what’s out there and what kind of training is available,” said workforce education expert Amy Johnson, who’s in charge of the new initiative, being developed by Greater Spokane Incorporated.

Greater Spokane Inc. landed a $20,000 grant from the Inland Northwest Community Foundation to develop and deliver the program. Its goal is three-fold: Eliminate stigmas associated with technical and community college degrees; excite kids about high-demand technical jobs early enough to enroll them in prerequisite high school classes; and ensure a skilled labor pool will be ready to fill anticipated openings.

The focus will be on four job sectors: healthcare, manufacturing, aerospace and construction.

“These are all high-demand, high-growth industries throughout the country and in our region,” Johnson said.

“A recent survey of manufacturing employers in the region showed that 81 percent were hiring immediately or in the near future,” according to the grant proposal. “Approximately 80 percent of the positions require skilled labor. And while the skills can be obtained … through Spokane’s community colleges, these programs are operating at less than 75 percent capacity.”

To catch teens’ attention, brochures on each of the four specialties will be made available in schools. Each will list descriptions of hot jobs, average annual salaries, necessary education and the community colleges, technical schools and universities in the area that offer necessary training.

But the best feature may be additional career binders brimming with descriptions of the variety of occupations in each of the four job sectors and easy-to-read charts that show which area schools offer appropriate coursework and certificates.

The materials will be given to representatives from Spokane’s nine school districts at a May 10 breakfast at the Spokane Club, Johnson said.Idaho high schools are welcome to request copies as well. Johnson said this sort of outreach is critical to ensure tomorrow’s workforce gets the preparation necessary to compete and thrive.

“It’s the business community’s responsibility to inform our educational community about opportunities that are available,” she said. “And we’ll be asking them: ‘What more can we do?’”

Johnson said it’s possible that internships, mentoring programs and classroom visits by business guests could develop out of the project.