WHAT IS:
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
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Workforce Development is a collective approach to economic development that recognizes the future of our community's economic stability and prosperity resides in its people. COMPACT brings employers, educators, trainers, not-for-profits, local leaders, and industry leaders together to develop and support the current and future workforce in McLean County through the collective impact of their investments, knowledge, and time.
COMPACT champions the region's educational and training institutions, resources, and programs that enables Bloomington-Normal's existing and future employers to cultivate, retain, and attract the talent that they need.
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Working for Workforce
COMPACT, in partnership with Chase Bank, held its second Working for Workforce meeting of 2018 at Heartland Community College. The event focused on connecting educators and employers to open a dialogue to address the complex issues associated with developing local talent and creating meaningful partnerships to provide students with career and STEM exploration opportunities.
The program was highlighted by a welcome from the President of Heartland Community College, Keith Cornille. He highlighted the mission of HCC and the importance of collectively "building a workforce to support the economic growth and vitality of our region." He noted the increased importance of post-secondary and STEM education to the success of our region and challenged the community to find ways provide our workforce the skills they needed to be successful.
The real impact of the meeting came from hearing the success stories of four BN students and how career exploration and STEM opportunities has impacted them. Their stories demonstrate that community efforts are working and that employer involvement is critical to developing students to enter the next steps in there life.
Kathy Nicholson-Tosh, Chair of the Program Development and Alignment Committee, outlined the Career Pathways program, a partnership with District 87, Unit 5, Olympia High School, the BACC, HCC, and ISU. The group is leading efforts to develop career pathways for McLean County students in the three BN Advantage industries: Agriculture Information Technology, and Health Services. Critical to the success of the program is connecting employers with students to provide important career exploration and work-based learning opportunities, such as internships, job shadowing, and coming to the classroom to share their stories.
Rebecca Henderson, Chair of the STEM Committee, outlined the success of BN STEM and the development of the
Content Provider Directory on
BNSTEM.org. The CPD provides a venue for employers to connect with educators to provide learning and career exploration opportunities at the employers level of interest, from full internships to classroom visits. The program is designed to bring the employer to the students and allow them to share their career, their passion, and their organizations to directly influence the workforce of the future.
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COMPACT Stories:
An Impact on the Community
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ISU Scholarships for McLean County Students
NORMAL — A new scholarship program aimed at McLean County students was announced Thursday by Illinois State University President Larry Dietz during his
annual State of the University address.
The McLean County Full Tuition Scholarship program will begin in fall 2019, awarding up to four years of free tuition to five students each year. The tuition waivers have a present-day value of about $50,000 over four years.
Read the full article
here.
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Phi Sigma STEM Grant
The Beta Lambda Chapter of the Phi Sigma Biological Sciences Honor Society at Illinois State University launches a grant to support biology education initiatives in McLean County.
Phi Sigma will award up to $1,000 to a K-12 teachers, administrator, or program leaders in McLean County to fund field trips, sponsor events, support guest speakers/visitors, or purchase classroom resources to engage students in biological sciences. For more information about the grant, contact Rachel Sparks at
raspar1@ilstu.edu.
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Illinois Farm Bureau Veteran Farming Program
The Illinois Farm Bureau is hosting
Veterans In Agriculture "Planning For Success" In Illinois to connect veterans who are interested in careers and opportunities in agriculture with industry leaders and experts. The program will teach participants how to get started in farming, how to take advantage of government programs, and how to find their niche in McLean County's leading industry.
Find more information
here.
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BACC Career Expo
The Bloomington Area Career Center would like to invite your organization to participate in the 12
th Annual 8
th Grade Career Expo! This year’s event will be held on Wednesday October 24
th from 8:00am-1:00pm at the Interstate Center. We are expecting over 1,500 8
th Grade students in attendance, and need your help to make this event a success!
This is your opportunity to influence our communities future workforce and share your passion for your career and organization. By participating in this event, you can showcase your business and really connect with students, helping create a positive learning and exploration opportunity with a lasting impact for McLean County.
Business Expectations:
Have a representative at your booth throughout the day to talk to students and answer questions about careers in the industry.
Provide a hands on activity so students can “try” the career.
Provide any information regarding education, skills, etc. to be successful in the career.
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COMPACT Committee Information
To join or for more information about COMPACT Committees contact
Andy Bender.
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Employer Engagement Committee
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On October 16th, COMPACT will host a meeting with McLean County service providers and not-for-profit organizations who work at promoting the employability of McLean County residents. The focus of the meeting will be on how the Essential Employability Skills program being developed by HCC can be integrated into existing programs.
The overarching goal of the program is to create a system of service providers and employers who recognize the value of the EES program to our workforce and to our employers by sending clients to the program and by employers offering preferences for those who have completed the entire set of modules.
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Program Development & Alignment
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COMPACT, the Bloomington Area Career Center, and participating McLean County high schools will hold the inaugural College and Career Connections, at Heartland Community College on October 29th. The event was designed by high school leaders to provide a forum in which high school students about to make decisions on entering college or the workforce can interact with local employers in their fields of interest. College and Career Connections is aligned with the six industry clusters designated in BN Advantage: agriculture, information technology, business and finance, transportation and logistics, health services, entrepreneurship. This is a wonderful opportunity for employers to connect and influence the future workforce and leadership of McLean County.
For more information on College and Career Connections, view the
flyer.
To register your business, click
here.
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Community Workforce Events
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Heartland Community College - Career Exploration Workshops
Arts: October 3rd
Sciences: October 17th
Healthcare: October 31st
All workshops are held in SCB 1602 @ 1:00 PM
College and Career Connections
October 29th, from 12:00 - 3:00 PM
Heartland Community College - Astroth Center
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For information about COMPACT or information in this newsletter contact
Andy Bender, Manger for Workforce Development.
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Is there someone in your network that might be interested in COMPACT or workforce development? Please forward and share!
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