Published: 9/23/2021 2:15:55 PM
GREENFIELD — The MassHire Franklin Hampshire Workforce Board formed a new partnership with a nonprofit focused on youth career development and has been implementing it in schools around the region.
The board’s collaboration with CareerVillage.org will connect youth in Franklin County and the North Quabbin region to local professionals and industry leaders to help them in their careers.
MassHire Franklin Hampshire Workforce Board School to Career Coordinator Laura Robinson said this partnership allows her organization to implement better career-advising options in school.
“It does have a wide-range of ways it can be implemented,” Robinson said. “(CareerVillage is) very, very supporting of making the programs accessible in school.”
Providing examples, Robinson said school guidance departments could implement CareerVillage programs for one-on-one use or teachers could develop it for classroom use. She added that schools could ask students what kinds of jobs they’re interested in and then they could go to CareerVillage to find more information on their desired job or industry.
“Once we get teachers on board and doing the programs in the classroom, (CareerVillage has) offered to set up one-on-one meetings with teachers or clusters of teachers,” Robinson said, “to guide them through the curriculum they develop.”
CareerVillage is an open-access platform that allows people to ask any question about any career, which is then matched with someone in that industry from a pool of more than 90,000 professionals volunteering their time on the site, a MassHire Franklin Hampshire Workforce Board press release explains.
Robinson said the workforce board has monthly meetings with CareerVillage that have been helpful in implementing programs.
They’ve been great,” Robinson said. “They’re more than happy to provide support to the teachers working in the program.”
CareerVillage founder Jared Chung said in a statement that the collaboration will help the workforce board reach youth in the community and help them achieve their career goals.
“I’ve always believed that the public sector and workforce boards have a role to play in the lives of young people,” Chung said. “I look forward to working with the MassHire Franklin Hampshire Workforce Board to reach and serve local youth as they prepare for their dream careers.”
As partners, CareerVillage will provide students with 24/7 access to career-planning activities while also providing educators with curriculum and development opportunities to educators.
Rebecca Bialecki, executive director of the MassHire Franklin Hampshire Workforce Board, said this is a chance for students to learn about the plethora of job opportunities in the region.
“This is an exciting opportunity,” Bialecki said in a statement, “to bring national expertise in a wide range of industries right to the doorways of our student population.”
Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.