Program Summary

Workforce Partnership serves as an intermediary for several school districts in order to assist in the development and implementation of work-based learning opportunities for students. Our intermediary collaborates with a wide array of local employers to bring these WBL experiences to our schools and to ensure that our local school curricula are informed by active industry representatives. Workforce Partnership currently serves as the WBL Intermediary for the DeSoto School District, the Kansas City, Kansas School District and the Spring Hill School District. This work was originally funded through a pilot grant from the KS Department of Education in collaboration with the KS Department of Commerce. It is anticipated that funding for PY22 and beyond will be built directly into the state’s budget. WBL opportunities can include:

• Career Awareness

• • Guest speakers from local businesses

  • Career fairs

  • Field trips to businesses

  • Employer facility tours (virtual or in-person)

• Career Exploration

  • Job shadowing with local employers

  • Mock interviews by local employer staff

  • Field trips to businesses

  • Career mentoring

• Career Preparation

  • Internship placement

  • Youth registered apprenticeship

  • Client-connected projects

  • Simulated work-based experience

  • Entrepreneurial experiences

  • Service learning

Eligibility:

All K-12 students in the three districts we serve are eligible to participate in a WBL opportunity. Those opportunities are structured by the school’s administrative and counseling team and offered through the schools. Opportunities and experiences will vary from district to district, and from school to school within the districts. Workforce Partnership hopes to add a second staff member dedicated to this work so that we can expand our intermediary services into more schools.

How You Can Help

• We need more employers engaged with our schools! Discuss with your HR leadership how your company or organization could host one or more of the experiences listed above. Non-profit organizations and civic/government organizations are great places for young people to gain work experience too!

• Share this information with your local schools and with other employers or organizations that may be interested in offering WBL opportunities.