Business Partnerships

Business Partnerships are an integral component of STC in Wake County. 
Our business partners support many efforts and programs such as:

 

• Career Fairs
• Practice Job Interviews
• Resume Reviews
• Job shadow host
• Internship sponsors
• Site Tours

 

 

 

 

 

 

School-to-Career (STC) efforts in Wake County are supported by a School-to-Career Council. The all volunteer School-to-Career Council seeks to support School-to-Career efforts at the system level by leveraging human resources to provide maximum benefit at the central office and policy levels and to encourage the development of successful school practices.

School-to-Career Council responsibilities include developing work-based learning opportunities for students, communicating the STC message, and overseeing the continuous improvement process to insure quality public education for all students.

The mission of the Wake County School-to-Career Council is to prepare every student to make knowledgeable career choices through academic rigor and work-based learning experiences. This requires a systematic, comprehensive, community-wide effort.

The Council is comprised of members of agencies, organizations, and businesses that have a vested interest in the development of Wake County¹s youth and believe in the mission of the Council.
The Wake County School-to-Career Council is divided into six work teams or committees. Each of these teams meets independently, is chaired by a business leader, and reports to the full council. A Leadership Team coordinates the work of the Council.

School-to-Career Council Organizational Chart

The mission of school- based business alliances is to link the resources from the community stakeholders to enhance the School-to-Career transition of every student, as they become responsible and productive citizens.
Business Alliances provide students with opportunities for:

• Career exploration and development
• Work-based-learning experiences
• Learning the value of school and academics as preparation for career development

The business alliance is a collaborative partnership between business leaders throughout the community and educators at our area middle schools and high schools.  The mission of the business alliance is to provide support and workplace realities for teachers and students and to be catalysts for engaging business and community organizations to prepare all students to be career focused and globally competitive.  The career and life expertise of business leaders provides students with the relevancy between education and future careers.  School- based business alliances typically meet on a monthly basis to develop action steps towards meeting the goals aligned with the School Improvement Plan. 
Career-based alliance activities include:

                                    Career fairs                                      Guest speaking
                                    Practice job interviews                       Field trips/site tours
                                    Job Shadow Day                                Internship
                                    Business ethics discussion                   Resume reviews

In addition to direct participation, the networking ability of our business leaders allows the alliance initiative to tap an extensive resource of talented individuals to which students would not other have access.

     
The immediate result of this partnership is to help prepare every student to make responsible, productive career choices, by assisting with school-based and work-based activities.  The end result is preparing students for a career of their choice, ultimately benefiting the employers within the community.

Career academies have a partnership with the community through their academy advisory board. This advisory board is comprised of business volunteers and representatives from post secondary education.

Advisory Board Responsibilities

The Advisory Board promotes partnerships between businesses and public high schools, and works with the Academy Director/Coordinator in providing the following essential functions:

1. Provides industry expertise to support Academy curriculum
2. Assist in student recruitment
3. Provides paid internships for Academy students
4. Encourages other community businesses to establish paid internships for students
5. Provides access to industry training classes for teachers
6. Provides industry familiarization tours for teachers and students
7. Provides mentoring and shadowing opportunities for students and teachers
8. Assists in budget development for Academy activities
9. Assist in fundraising to support Academy activities
10. Assist in promotional activities for the Academy
11. Assist in expansion for Academy programs
12. Provides scholarships for outstanding students
13. Serves as an advocate for the Academy to educational, political and business community

The mission of the Career Advisory Teams (CAT) is to create and strengthen effective, collaborative relationships among educators, employers, and students to prepare future employees to become productive, socially responsible citizens.
Career Advisory Teams goals are to:

• integrate core academics and CTE (Career and Technical Education) courses with the world of work
• support school improvement efforts
• support the improvement and development of curricula and facilities for CTE courses
• identify current and future job trends and make recommendations
• promote cooperation and collaboration among employers, schools, and post secondary education

Each CAT is a group of business people and post secondary educators who share a common passion for one of the 16 career clusters identified by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.  Each CAT meets regularly to enhance the connections between school and career for the various careers within their industry.

Career Advisory Teams (CAT)

• Agricultural, Food and Natural Resources
• Architecture and Construction
• Arts, Audio/Video Technology, and Communications
• Business Management and Administration
• Education and Training
• Finance
• Government & Public Administration

• Health Science
• Hospitality and Tourism
• Human Services
• Information Technology
• Law, Public Safety, and Corrections
• Manufacturing
• Marketing
• Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
• Transportation, Distribution, and Logistics

Sometimes local businesses don’t have the staff or time to devote to being on a business alliance or an advisory board, however, they want to assist Wake County schools and students.  There are a number of ways to get involved that don’t require monthly meetings just a passion to help.
Below is a sample list how many local businesses support School-to-Career within Wake County:

• Career Speaker (1 -2 hours)
• Participate in local career fair (1/2 day)
• Host students to job shadow (1/2 day or full day)
• Sponsor and intern (180 hours over semester)
• Become a mentor
• Assist with practice interview and/or resume reviews
• Host students and teacher for a site visit (1/2 day or full day)
• Share your career expertise with teachers and students (industry publications)
• Donate industry equipment or instructional resources to schools

GET INVOLVED