BUSINESS & CAREER DEVELOPMENT CONNECTIONS
At some point in the implementation and maintenance of the NC Graduation Project (NCGP), all Graduation Project Coordinators will have to secure and prepare mentors and evaluators, as well as, coordinate a working relationship between school advisor, student, parents, community, evaluators, and mentors. While this may seem to be a daunting task at the beginning, much of the business community across the state is ready and willing to assist you. Knowledge about the graduation project and the involvement it will take from them to make the graduation project a success is spreading among business and career development groups. More and more these groups are becoming knowledgeable about the project and want to assist schools and students maximize the NCGP experience. They are eager to share their expertise and work environments with students in order to build better understanding of what the real world of work is really like and to perhaps encourage students to pursue a career in their profession. The mentor experience is a collaborative aspect of the graduation project and, when administered appropriately, mutually benefits schools, students, businesses, community and education in general. To that end, the Business and Career Development Connections portion of this website will be devoted to sharing insight into how business and career development groups are responding to the NCGP high school requirement and providing information and resources to assist you in networking with state and local businesses.
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Potential Resources From Which To Seek Mentors Across North Carolina
The following list of public websites has been assembled to help teachers
more quickly locate business, industry, local and statewide government agencies,
associations and organizations in counties across the state who may be willing
to provide or operate as mentors for the North Carolina Graduation Project.
The NC Department of Public Instruction in no way assumes responsibility for
the information located at each site nor have any of the groups or individuals
listed agreed to be mentors. These sites are public access sites that we have
merely located according to county or, in some cases they are statewide, to
help facilitate finding mentors. Users will have to employ discretion and
go through appropriate processes to contact, establish and work with any potential
mentors. Because we do not control these sites, they are subject to change,
however, most of these were found by doing a search for business, industry,
chambers of commerce, associations, organizations, etc. You may wish to do
similar online searches to locate other resources or to find resources that
pertain to a specific job or career not represented here.
Kimberly, a 2008 summer intern with NCDPI, spent many hours locating these sites across the state and assembling the resulting list. We would like to express our many thanks to Kimberly for her dedication to the task and for providing this valuable and timely resource.
(xls, 128kb)
21st Century Graduates – A Closer Look at the North Carolina Graduation Project
This "Findings from the North Carolina Business Committee for Education 2006
Partner Survey", identifies skills and qualities important for students to
succeed in 21st century workplaces, the mounting evidence of inadequate preparation
and how students can be better prepared. In addition, the Findings discuss
the role the NCGP in connection with business and community leaders can play
in helping students’ achievement and preparation for living and working in
the global economy of the 21st century.
(pdf, 149kb)
North Carolina Business Committee for Education
The NCBCE is committed to partnering with schools and LEAs to assist with various aspects of the NC Graduation Project such as being a project mentor, providing expertise knowledge in a specialized field, or advising students on their Graduation Projects. Business leaders recognize that the skills required to complete the Graduation Project, such as research, writing, and presenting, are important attributes that future employees will need. Visit www.ncbce.org for more information.
Job Shadowing and the North Carolina Graduation Project
Job shadowing can be a first step for students to discover interests, make connections
and develop ideas for the NC Graduation Project. This North Carolina Business
Committee for Education document discusses the benefits of job shadowing to
businesses, educators and students, as well as, describes an action plan for
businesses to use in implementing job shadowing with schools. There is also
a link for companies who may not be able to physically host students or educators
that allows connections to be made through an on-line environment.
(pdf, 75kb)
FUTURES FOR KIDS
Futures for Kids (F4K) is a fun and easy way for your students to explore
different careers and understand the relevance of school as a means to future
success. Through F4K, students can match their interests to almost 500 different
careers and learn about the classes they need to take as well as the career
outlook for North Carolina. Most important, students can connect with NC companies
and get advice from 500+ F4K Career Coaches, through monitored discussion
boards where they will connect with someone who can share first-hand what
it takes to make it in that career.
The best part is, you can explore F4K with your students and have their 4-year graduation plans and career interests right at your computer! F4K is currently being delivered to 22 school systems across NC and working to expand statewide in 2008-2009. For more information, contact F4K at info@f4k.org.
Website in Support of the Graduation Project – A Model for Business and Industry
The North Carolina Office of Environmental Education, a state government
office, has created a NC Graduation Project Support site to assist students
and individuals in an environmental profession to connect in order to facilitate
the mentoring aspect of the Project. They have both a Students Seeking Mentors
and a Mentors Seeking Students section. There is also a process to enable
mentors to express an interest in mentoring and be added to the website.
This example of support for the Graduation Project in our public schools is definitely a beneficial and practical means to support the Project, and serves as a model that business and industry might follow. For additional information, check out the site at http://www.eenorthcarolina.org/gradproject.html.