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A new high school program projected to equip students with the entrepreneurial skills needed to start their own business begins this month amidst a critical shortage of skilled labor in the city.
“We know that there is a shortage in skilled labor and that’s what we are here for. The sooner we can expose our students to these types of opportunities the more likely they are to head into these types of paths,” said Mandy Cleland the Learning Coordinator for the Thames Valley District School Board.
The program that was announced back in November has been prepared to fulfill the needs of the students. The Thames Valley District school board has already begun contacting teachers and students and gathering applicants and their pitch ideas for a business.
“Both students and teachers will be applying, and the teachers will serve as mentors for each of the applicants.”
The project will focus on getting students more exposure to the entrepreneurial mindset by experiencing real industries and businesses.
“The students will be partnered up with industry or community partners, and our job will be to connect them with these partners so that they can learn through these real-world experiences,” added Cleland.
Students will also be able to participate in an entrepreneurial conference that will provide them with even further knowledge and skills for the industry.
“We are going to have keynote speakers, and a panel of community and industry people who have that entrepreneurial mindset to share their journey, amongst many other things.”
Cleland also stresses the importance of the community in these projects and how essential it is for these students.
“Working with the community really allows our students to see the importance of these transferable skills, like collaboration, communication, and critical thinking.”
“We value these skills in schools but a lot of these skills are built and really refined outside of the classroom,” she said, “Whenever we can make the learning real by connecting it to community and industry where students can see how important these things are is when we really see our students engage and feel empowered.”
The program will be made available to all students in grades 9 to 12, who may be interested and will allow these students to flourish their skills and knowledge and ultimately be ready for the real-world industry at a much younger age.
A new high school project will equip students with entrepreneurial skills and mindset at a young age, amid a critical shortage of skilled labor in the region.
Check out the full story here:https://t.co/uLulycMjDs— Felipe (@Felipe13436267) January 22, 2023
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