By Scott Marquardt, Southwest Initiative Foundation
The newest issue of our CONNECT newsletter is all about career pathways. Our feature story has highlights from the vast network of partnerships around our region that are supporting our students in finding meaningful work and our employers in filling their workforce needs so that our economy and communities can thrive.
Choosing what to include was difficult because there is so much happening in career and technical education right now. Something we didn’t have room to cover in the feature that I want to call out are the career exploration events in southwest Minnesota. From IGNITE Your Future in Hutchinson to Southwest Minnesota Career Expo in Worthington and Marshall, thousands of students attend these fun, interactive events that help them “try on” different jobs. It takes hundreds of business, agency and education volunteers working together to pull it off.
Southwest Initiative Foundation (SWIF) is proud to not only be a
sponsor, but also to invest our time to support these events. More
than half our staff are based at the office in Hutchinson, and each year a group volunteers at IGNITE, as well as SWIF Chief Administrative Officer Missy Maiers serving on the event’s steering committee.
I’m grateful for the willingness of our team to mobilize their expertise and relationships to make multi-partner and multi-faceted convenings and projects a success. Career pathways work is not just something we fund. It’s something we at SWIF as an employer – and our staff as community members and even as parents – care deeply about.
As you read this issue’s highlights, know that there are many more efforts underway and take the opportunity to explore what’s happening in your own community.
Read the latest CONNECT stories
A new era of career exploration
Today’s approach to career and technical education in southwest Minnesota is an evolving network of partners all leaning in to strengthen students’ ties to the region and open their eyes to the possibilities around them. Southwest Initiative Foundation and all its funds have invested more than $1 million in career pathways work since 2017, from sponsoring major career expos drawing hundreds of students to the purchase of welding safety equipment and funding hands-on FFA experiences.
Local community foundations are partners in career prep
When it comes to career and technical education (CTE), local community foundations can be a great resource to support projects and ideas in schools. Many of Southwest Initiative Foundation’s 31 community foundation partners make grants to schools for projects related to career exploration. Earlier this school year, the Montevideo Area Community Foundation (MACF) granted half the cost to replace the safety helmets in the welding shop at Montevideo High School.
Continue Reading Local community foundations are partners in career prep
