Business Menu
There are a variety of ways you can influence and contribute to Tech Prep, based on your time, abilities and expertise.
Direct support to students:
Connect a company employee to a Tech Prep student as an Industry Mentor.
Unlike a job shadow, where a student links up to a professional for a single visit, an industry mentor shares their skill sets and workplace experiences with a student who periodically visits your company. This is a powerful transaction benefiting both the employee and the student. Research says that employees who are given the chance to impart their professional wisdom and insights are more satisfied and productive in their own jobs. Students can demonstrate what they’ve learned over time to someone who can “chart their professional growth,” thus leading to a credible reference. For your company, it’s a chance to get to know someone who is truly interested in your industry and could be a potential job candidate.
The scope of an industry mentor’s commitment to a Tech Prep student is up to your company’s availability. We ask you to consider at least six visits over a school year. contact your Tech Prep representative to decide if this is right for you.
Hire a Tech Prep Intern
It’s a fact: students who participate in paid or unpaid internships or apprenticeships are better prepared for their chosen career. Internships are generally set up through participating Tech Prep programs, so the instructor can select a student who has demonstrated readiness for this kind of commitment. Businesses need to have a supervisor who will oversee the intern, and communicate with the instructor on a regular basis.
Many companies have found the perfect job candidate through an internship. To find out if this kind of activity is good for your business, contact your Tech Prep representative.
Host company tours or career events
Students benefit tremendously when they visit real workplaces and see how what they learn will be put into practice. Worksite visits are arranged through Tech Prep programs. Periodically, Tech Prep consortia will host career events, such as Hiring Events or Industry Receptions, especially for their graduating students. If you would like to meet highly skilled job candidates, contact your Tech Prep representative to find out how to organize a company tour or participate in an upcoming event.
Visit a Tech Prep program
Our instructors welcome industry professionals as guest speakers and “instructors for the day” throughout the school year. This also gives you the opportunity to observe a Tech Prep program in action, and to give the students and instructor feedback about the kinds of skills your company needs. Contact your Tech Prep representative to arrange a visit.
Direct support to educators:
Develop and/or update Articulation Agreements and Curricula
The careful, extensive development and/or evaluation of career technical education programs in Tech Prep ensures we are producing highly qualified job candidates. It’s the foundation of our training and preparation.
We regularly enlist business representatives to help us create and update articulation agreements and curricula. This is a fantastic way to shape local training to meet local business needs. Contact your Tech Prep representative to find out how you can participate in these activities.
Host Educators in your Workplace
Just as students benefit from industry mentors, teachers need professional development time outside of their classrooms to stay on top of industry trends and practices. Guidance counselors and administrators need the most current information on desired skill sets, degrees and certifications, and the personalities that best fit your industry. Educators in the workplace is your opportunity to contribute to the information these professionals provide to students.
Typically, Tech Prep staff arrange for educators to visit several businesses as part of their ongoing professional development requirements. Contact your Tech Prep representative to find out when and how you could host Educators in the Workplace.
Participate in an Executive Exchange
An Executive Exchange matches top-level executives with top-level education administrators. First, participants meet their partner and set dates to visit each other’s workplaces. By spending the better part of a day shadowing one another during a "routine" workday, participants establish relationships and discover ways to address needs within the community.
Executive exchanges are arranged through schools – Contact your Tech Prep representative for more information.
Join an Advisory Board
Many Tech Prep programs have established advisory boards of educators and business representatives who regularly oversee program standards, curricula, and decision-making. These connections, typically through a participating college, give companies a direct pipeline to highly qualified job candidates. Contact your Tech Prep representative to learn more about Advisory Boards in your area.
Indirect support to Tech Prep program:
Donate to the Tech Prep Scholarship Fund
Most of Tech Prep is free for students. However, some experience financial hardships that interfere with their ability to successfully finish their program. We can make sure all students reach their goals with your help. Your donation to a Tech Prep scholarship fund pays directly for student needs, not administration costs, and it is tax deductible. Nearly every consortium in Washington has a Tech Prep Scholarship Fund, so your gift can go directly to a local student.
contact your Tech Prep representative to find out how you can support a student.
© Skagit Valley College 2007