As a follow-up to this fall's Junior Achievement (JA) JobSpark experience at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, JA volunteers visited PCMS yesterday to have more in-depth discussions with 8th grade students about career opportunities, and to help them prepare for the job fair the students will host for Plainfield 5th grade students later this spring.
JA volunteers represent careers in a wide variety of what they call "career clusters." Based on their interests, students were assigned to meet with representatives of a specific cluster. Those included:
- Health and Life Sciences
- Technology
- Advanced Manufacturing, Engineering and Logistics
- Hospitality and Tourism
- Architecture and Construction
- Business and Finance
- Government, Law and Public Service
- Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources
Volunteers share their insights with students throughout Central Indiana each year, and students have the chance to ask questions about jobs and how to prepare for different careers.
As we continue to help students and parents understand the value and opportunities that exist in the looming job market, experiences such as this are critical. The JA volunteers represent many local employers (One America, Indianapolis EMS, Salesforce, Microsoft, Indiana Farm Bureau, Roche and The Hagerman Group, to name a few), and their career paths are varied. While many pursued traditional four-year college, others went straight into the job market via on-the-job training or trade schools.
The job markets of today and tomorrow are quite different from what many of us knew when we graduated from high school. The opportunities to receive paid training and begin earning a reasonable wage shortly after high school are more abundant today. We are committed to helping students and parents understand the ever-expanding career paths, and to ensuring that we prepare students for any path they might select.
Working with organizations such as Junior Achievement and the many employers that their volunteers represent, is just one way we are working to prepare students to be successful adults. The partnership has been very successful, and we are extremely grateful to everyone involved.