Career Ready Connections

Please seek out new opportunities for learners and educators on the Career Ready PA Coalition webpage. Students and families will find career awareness opportunities to experience with one of our many stakeholders!

Don't forget that our Career Ready PA regional liaisons are here to support you with training and resources. If you don't know your region, you can use the regions map located on the Career Ready PA page.

And, for upcoming events, join the Career Readiness Learning Community on SAS. The Career Ready Liaisons are constantly adding statewide events.

• Resources are available at SAS for Career Readiness.
• Join our Career Readiness Learning Community. (PDE SAS login is required.)
• Career Ready PA is PDE’s source for guidance and resources.

Prior to a winter pause, the Coalition held the November meeting and highlighted best practices in agricultural education and career pathways in horticulture and the dairy industry, featuring Sarah Masterton, Vice President of Engagement and Learning, from Longwood Gardens (horticulture) and Michelle Shearer, Workforce Development Manager, from the Center for Dairy Excellence. At the February meeting, the Coalition featured St. Marys Area School District, facilitated by Superintendent Harley Ramsey and their best practice in-school powdered metals preapprenticeship program “Dutch Manufacturing.” Both sessions included share-outs from Andy Petroski and IT student opportunities through NuPaths. Each session also prioritizes updates in education and workforce, especially employability skills and industry credentials. The March session included a best practice from Region 10 and Albright College and its pre-college and summer student programs, “Total Experience Learning in K-12 Education.” Access to the presentations and recorded sessions can be located at the Google Share link.

Webinars continue to be offered and recordings are posted on the Career Ready PA Coalition website. Career and workforce readiness are integral to developing equitable access to career pathways for all Pennsylvania learners, through effective workforce training, aligned to workforce needs and departmental career readiness initiatives. Follow #CareerReadyPA to stay connected!

Do you know any graduating seniors? Schell Games is partnering with CCAC to sponsor an apprenticeship program for students interested in the gaming industry. The program’s hybrid training curriculum will guide aspiring gaming professionals through a three-year Associate of Science in Multimedia Programming, Simulation & Gaming.

• The program is a blend of classroom study (20 hours per week) and paid on-the-job training (20 hours per week).
• Schell Games will pay the full tuition for selected apprentices as well as public transit or parking passes to cover students' commutes.
• Training will also include professional development company-specific onboarding.

For more information and to apply, please visit the CCAC webpage for the Apprenticeship.

Join our cohort of high school teachers pilot testing a new Digital Career Readiness Curriculum called Powerskills Game Lab (PGL), developed by Hats & Ladders with funding from the US Dept. of Education. PGL provides digital and classroom activities to support student’s Self-Efficacy, Active Listening, and Conflict Management, and extends Hats & Ladder's award winning career development platform.

For this project you will: facilitate 5 lessons, attend a 90-minute professional development session (available live or recorded on request), and help us collect/conduct: student surveys, teacher interviews, and student focus groups. Participating teachers will get $250/classroom and your school will receive $250 and a free license for Hats & Ladders for a whole school for a year. If interested, complete this teacher interest form and we’ll follow up.

Remake Learning Days Across America is an innovative learning festival for families and youth! Taking root in regions across the nation, these hands-on and engaging events are designed for kids of all ages at libraries, schools, tech centers, museums, play spaces, community centers and more. Once again, PDE will elevate these events through the Career Ready PA Backpack Challenge. Students will have an opportunity to earn a digital badge for their career portfolio by participating in events tagged with a “Career Ready PA Backpack Challenge” backpack. Schools can register for the Backpack Challenge at the Remake Learning Days Career Ready PA Backpack Challenge website. Once registered, please follow the steps to participate in events and earn a digital badge. Schools with more than 100 badges may earn a banner ! Don’t miss this exciting opportunity!

"We appreciate the opportunity to provide theses career readiness activities to our students. They students gain awareness of vocational opportunities outside of their daily environments. In addition, all presenters spoke on the importance of employability skills. It absolutely reinforced our career development curriculum." Work Foundations

The Coalition and Career Ready PA are hosting a series of monthly webinars highlighting career pathways, resources, and best practices. Educators can view our upcoming webinars and register online on our Eventbrite page. Recordings of the webinars, as well as materials shared during the sessions, can be found on our Career Ready PA Coalition page under Career Ready Webinars.

In March, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry released a statewide survey to assess feedback for a statewide employability certificate to stakeholders statewide. More information will be available in the next newsletter.

Be sure to review the Act 158 toolkit on SAS Act 158 toolkit at the PDE SAS website for resources and technical support on graduation pathways.

Website: www.aiu3.net/PACareerReady