17 Businesses + 9 Schools
Stark Education Partnership (SEP) is poised and ready to support Stark County schools and businesses as they collaborate to engage students in quality work-based learning experiences – and it begins this semester! Students in Alliance City, Marlington Local, Osnaburg Local, Tuslaw Local and Heritage Christian will partner with 17 Stark County businesses who believe that investing in our kids today will lead to a bright future for both our youth and local employers. These local businesses will help students find their ideal career and potentially thrive in Stark County companies as tomorrow’s skilled talent.
Making the Career Connection
Stark County boasts a broad array of employment opportunities with companies in high demand sectors such as healthcare, hospitality, IT, manufacturing, and logistics. The business community is excited about how helping students find their natural career aptitudes and interests through implementation of the YouScience assessments will correlate to developing a more diverse, skilled, and satisfied workforce in the future. These innovative employers are willing to contribute time and, in many cases, funding to further help students explore careers that excite them.
The seventeen companies who have agreed to engage with student career connected learning opportunities may offer speakers, exploration days, field trips, career shadowing, internships or even job opportunities. Of these innovators, six have already signed on to sponsor their own corporate career-focused videos to be shared with students across Stark County. In each video, titled “Career Pathway Explorer Series,” students will learn about three in-demand careers and the educational and job pathway to achieve that career within a given company.
Shaun Eller from Ohio Gratings said, "Ohio Gratings has enjoyed watching many students prosper in our student work programs. We have hired students from many different career tech programs, and they hold positions as welders, detailers/drafters, burn table operators, and maintenance technicians. It will be exciting to see more students grow in their careers and realize the opportunities that are available in manufacturing."
Truly, the business community in Stark County is investing in the future success of our youth!
Local Partnering Businesses
All 17 (to date) of the following businesses are offering work-based learning opportunities. Six businesses (shown in italics) are also participating in the Stark Career Pathway Explorer Series (videos highlighting a company and jobs within that company):