How Do I Build a Workforce Within My Own Community?

Over the past 18 to 24 months, Workforce Solutions Brazos Valley (WSBV) and numerous employers, school districts, and local community colleges came together and saw the need to establish an organization that would work collaboratively to try and build, teach, and develop a workforce from within the surrounding area of the Brazos Valley. Cities throughout the area met on several occasions and developed the Community and Business Leaders Partnership (CBLP). Within this partnership, committees were formed and projects were developed that might start the creation of this new collaborative workforce. One of these projects was the Summer Teacher Externship Program.

WSBV and CBLP have developed the Teacher Externship Program to bring teachers and companies together to collaborate and develop a pipeline for a future skilled workforce. The purpose is to provide valuable and meaningful industry insight to teachers which will assist in preparing students not just for work, but for developing plans and skills to meet their future workforce goals.

Companies not only get an opportunity to showcase their industry, they make a positive impact on the community by helping to develop responsible, well-trained young adults. The teachers involved also have a positive gain. They are exposed to real-life applications of what is taught in classrooms. Teachers develop lesson plans from their experiences that help students contextualize curriculum to utilize specific skills that will aid them as they prepare to enter the labor force and give them a glimpse of career pathways.

The cost is minimal when considering the long-term benefit of having teachers within our school system preparing, mentoring, and teaching young adults for possibilities in not only our manufacturing environment but for all the others within the area. Our externship lasted one week, Monday through Friday, and typically ran the normal duty day of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. While the teacher is with the company, the goal is for them to see all aspects of the company.

Meetings to discuss how the program can be improved will be completed once all externships are complete.