It is almost March and the area high schools are well into the final semester of the school year, causing more than one graduating senior to ask “what am I going to do after high school? What am I going to pursue as a career?” Similarly, there is probably more than one employer in our region that is asking, “Where am I going to get my next capable employee?” These two seemingly discrete questions might have the same answer: work-based learning. That is, opportunities for high school students to explore potential careers through on-the-job mentoring or internships.

Clark Fork Jr/Sr High School offers these types of opportunities in spades! That is why Marty Jones, the career & technical education instructor at Clark Fork High School, was recently invited to be a featured speaker at the Building Tomorrow’s Workforce Today workshop at North Idaho College. The workshop was an opportunity for educators and business owners in the region to both share and learn about job-force training programs in the local communities.

The workshop was a presentation by a coalition of interested groups, including the State Department of Education, the State Department of Labor, the Idaho Workforce Development Council, and many private business owners and executives, among others.

The coalition came about as Idaho businesses are increasingly having difficulty in finding new employees with the right skills, even among recent college graduates. It is hoped that by connecting schools with state agencies and private businesses the next generation of workers can be equipped to find the right career and with the right skills. The world of work is changing rapidly and even colleges are having difficulty adapting to the changes. By offering students direct experiences in potential career fields while still in school will help them to identify a future career. Businesses gain by connecting with better prepared and higher motivated future employees.

Why Clark Fork High School? The school’s innovative experiential-learning track program has been getting increased attention from across the state, as the school’s success with the program is well documented. In fact, two other Idaho high schools --- Mullan Jr/ Sr High School in Mullan, and Lakeside Jr/Sr High School in Plummer --- have both adopted the program. And next year, Noxon High School in neighboring Sanders County, Montana, will be added to the list.

This past September staff members from Clark Fork Jr/Sr High School were invited by the State Board of Education to share their experiential-learning track program at the Age of Agility Idaho Summit in Boise, organized by the Idaho Business for Education. The workshop at North Idaho College was a follow up to that meeting.

The experiential-learning track program at Clark Fork High School provides students with the opportunity to explore in a “hands-on” way any career field that might interest them through crafting projects and participating in day-long activities. In this way, they not only get to learn by experience participating in activities that truly interest them, but are also exposed to things that they might not have considered or even knew existed. In addition, these track days not only extend over the entire school day, but potentially from one semester to the next. Activities and projects are not limited by the clock. In the words of Marty Jones, these learning opportunities help to “spark creativity, by doing things that can’t be done in the formal classroom setting.”

Brian Cox, president of Tamarack Aerospace in Sandpoint, was also a guest speaker at the workshop. He shared that providing mentoring opportunities and internships are an important component in the company’s hiring program; “for finding the right person for the right job.” While these types of opportunities may help guide students to make informed career choices, he believes that they also help companies to get to know personally these possible future recruits. After all, for a potential employer the right employee’s mindset can be crucial --- something that young people need to know. As Brian Cox stated, that when looking for the right person to hire at Tamarack their belief is “we look for 90% attitude and we’ll teach the rest.”

Brian Cox also commended Clark Fork High School for the school’s experiential-learning track program as Tamarack Aerospace recently hosted a student from the school. The student spent a semester being mentored by one of the engineers at the company. This proved to be a great experience for both parties.

The goal of this recent workshop at North Idaho College is to connect high school and college students with mentoring opportunities and internships at local businesses. That is, increase “work-based learning.” In this way students can make better-informed career choices and employers can find better-prepared employees. It is sounds like a win-win for everyone!