Job Center of Wisconsin and Milton High School

Job Center of Wisconsin and Milton High School A Workforce Partnership Amy Kenyon Milton School District - School to Career Coordinator Career and Technical Education Coordinator Heath Bierman DWD – Employment and Training Specialist; Rock County Job Center ACP Conference December 6, 2016 Madison, WI Stephanie Elmer DWD – Employment and Training Specialist; Rock County Job Center

Partnership Formation • DWD Job Service staff from Rock County Job Center partnered with Milton High School (MHS) (MECAS) to provide students in GED classes with: – Work Readiness Workshops – Work. Keys Testing • Requests from employer community • Jane Dooley (MECAS) connected DWD staff with Amy Kenyon (School to Career Coordinator) to develop services for full MHS student population. "

Career Exploration Day • April 12, 2016 at MHS • All 9 – 12 th grade MHS students participated • Students rotated through 4 sessions: – Career Cluster first choice – Career Cluster second choice – Job Center presentation in auditorium – College Fair in gymnasium

Career Exploration Day Planning: Part 1 4 -6 months before the event: • All MHS students completed Career Cruising Match Maker Assessment: from this assessment, each student developed a list of possible careers • MHS provided 1, 056 students with first and second choices in each Career Cluster • DWD determined the number of participating employer representatives for each Career Cluster • DWD developed work readiness presentation for students

Career Exploration Day Planning: Part 1 Documents Combined similar clusters based on level of interest, resulting in 10 categories instead of 16: Career Cluster Agriculture, Food, & Natural Resources Architecture & Construction Arts, A/V Technology, & Communications Business Management: Administration/Finance/Hospitality/Marketing Education & Training Gov't: Public Administration/Law, Public Safety, Corrections & Security Health Science Human Services Manufacturing/Transportation, Distribution, & Logistics Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math/Information Technology # Rooms # Panelists 2 2 3 2 2 1 3 3 2 2 4 4 6 4– 8 4 2 6 6 4 4

Career Exploration Day Planning: Part 2 2 -3 months before the event: • DWD contacted targeted employers to confirm attendance • MHS contacted targeted postsecondary institutions to confirm attendance • MHS developed individualized student schedules based on their top 2 Career Cluster interests • MHS developed student tracking brochure

Career Exploration Day Planning: Part 3 2 weeks before event • DWD developed biography sheets for each employer representative • DWD sent logistics info to employer reps • MHS & DWD partnered to notify media of event

Career Exploration Day Planning: Part 3 Documents

Career Exploration Day • • • 22 classrooms 62 employer representatives 1 work-readiness presentation in auditorium 25 Post-secondary training institutions in gym Approximately 1, 000 9 – 12 grade students

Partnership Formation Career Exploration Day: Student Brochure

Career Exploration Day: Student Brochure, continued…

Lessons Learned Successes: Improvements: • Overwhelmingly positive response from students and employers • Scheduling, flow and format ran smoothly • Employers have requested replicating the model in other schools • More field worker participation • Fine tune communications with employers about expectations for the day • Consider shortening 45 minute sessions • Provide more hands-on vs. lecture opportunities • May be difficult to replicate on a larger scale

Partnership Continues: Student Job Fair Event • Connect interested students with appropriate employers currently hiring their age group/skill level • Encourage students to network with employers in their chosen career field • Explore opportunities for informational interviews, Youth/Registered Apprenticeship, on-the-job training, job shadowing, and internships/externships

Student Job Fair • • April 26, 2016 at MHS 57 employers represented Over 1, 100 available jobs All Juniors and Seniors participated: – Students first met in auditorium for a Job Fair preparation session

Job Fair Preparation Session Topics: Qualities Employers Seek When Hiring • • Attendance Punctuality Enthusiasm Cooperation Maturity Accuracy Problem-solving skills • • Organizational skills Interpersonal skills Positive attitude Leadership abilities Communication skills Considerate and helpful Willingness to work with others as a team

Job Fair Preparation Session Topics: Preparing to Attend a Job Fair • Research the companies that interest you. Learn who they are and what they do. • Create a prioritized list of employers you’d like to meet with at the Job Fair. • Do not wander or roam. Present yourself with a purpose. • Don’t be shy – be prepared! • Prepare and practice your introduction to naturally state your name, work experiences and education in less than 30 seconds. • Resumes: – Prepare a strong resume. – Have others proofread your resume/completed applications to ensure documents are errorfree. – Bring crisp, clean copies in a portfolio or folder.

Job Fair Preparation Session Topics: Conduct at the Job Fair • Greet each employer with a firm handshake and smile. • Make eye contact and introduce yourself. • Be polite! • Listen carefully to what the recruiter is saying. The room may be noisy, so don’t get distracted! • Focus, Focus! • Don’t let promotional freebies on the table distract you; Don’t grab them. • Glance at the recruiter’s nametag and remember their name. • Get a business card from each recruiter and save it for follow up purposes. • Thank each recruiter for their time.

Job Fair Preparation Session Topics: Post-Job Fair Follow-up • Send a follow-up/thank you letter to each employer with which you spoke. • Send letters within 3 days after the event. • It is okay to enclose a resume with your thank you letter. This may draw attention to your name once again.

Job Fair Preparation Session Topics: Obtaining a Work Permit • Letter from employer (preferably on business stationery) with: – – Employer’s complete name, address, and phone number. State student job/duties. Must be signed by the manager/owner. Work permit will NOT be issued without this letter. • Parent/guardian signature and date: – Parent/guardian may sign the student’s employment letter or sign/date a permission statement. EXAMPLE: I give my son/daughter (name) permission to work at (business name).

Job Fair Preparation Session Topics: Obtaining a Work Permit, continued… • Two (2) pieces of identification are required to obtain a work permit: 1) A social security card is mandatory, and 2) A birth certificate, Baptismal certificate, Valid driver’s license, or Photo ID. • The student needs to be present to sign the work permit. • Cost is $10. 00 which is reimbursed to the student by the employer per state statutes. • Special Note: If reapplying at the same office, you will only need the employer letter, parent permission and $10. 00 fee. The other information should be on file here.

Job Fair Preparation Session Topics: Participating Employers • American Awards & Promotions-Milton • Ball Corporation-Ft. Atkinson • Bank of Milton-Milton • Basin Precision Machining-Jefferson • Bell Labs-Madison • Birds Eye Foods-Darien • Blackhawk Community Credit Union-Janesville • Blain’s Farm and Fleet. Janesville • Bright. Star Care-Madison • Brotoloc South. Whitewater • Burger King-Ft. Atkinson • Cedar Crest-Janesville • Charter Communications. Wausau

Job Fair Preparation Session Topics: Follow MHS School-to-Career Program Follow mhsjobs @Milton. HSJobs

Job Fair Preparation Session Topics: MHS ACP and Career Cruising • • • Comprehensive ACP Plan utilizes both Career Cruising and Google Docs to organize items. ACP work is done in homerooms, English classes and the required Financial Literacy class. Students are also required to be involved in at least 4 Work-Based Learning opportunities.

Job Fair Preparation Session Topics: ACP Portfolio Presentation Beginning in the class of 2018, all seniors will be required to present their portfolio to a panel consisting of: • Homeroom Teacher/Staff Member • Administrator • Local Business Member Using elements they have created in their portfolio, students will answer these questions: • The last four years of high school have taught me… • Post-secondary plan description and interest is and I chose this because. . .

Employer Job Fair Documents

Employer Booth Job Fair Documents

Student Job Fair Documents

Lessons Learned Successes: Improvements: • Many positive comments from employers with same day interviews/hires • Hands-on/interactive displays • DWD Apprenticeship, DVR, and WIOA Youth Programs represented • Hiring age represented: 14+ • Develop planned student activity to require employer contact • Expand participation (Only 11 – 12 th grades included) • Many student absences • Consider shorter timeframe • Include more hands-on activities

Questions? Amy Kenyon MHS School to Career/CTE Coordinator (608) 868 -9300, Ext. 1107 kenyona@milton. k 12. wi. us Heath Bierman Employment and Training Specialist (608) 741 -3612 Heath. Bierman@dwd. wisconsin. gov