The Boy Scouts of America Bay-Lakes Council is taking its established and proven Exploring program and applying it in a new way that aims to help manufacturers and kids alike.
The program provides one-on-one mentoring opportunities for youth looking to chart their career path. Recognizing the skills gap in manufacturing and realizing that many young people have never been in a manufacturing setting, the organization created a new initiative.
It offers high school students — male and female — firsthand experience and exposure at workplaces with mentors. It’s designed to build on career readiness skills, provide employment readiness training and offer a range of career exploration and work-based learning opportunities.
Participating businesses agree to open their facilities to students after school for a series of training and exposure sessions. At these meetings, students tour the facilities, learn about the types of careers offered, the education and training necessary to hold the jobs, pay scales and what staff members do daily.
To kick off the initiative, the organization recently invited Mike Molnar of the U.S. Department of Commerce, an Appleton native and director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, to speak with Fox Valley area manufacturers
and business leaders.
Boy Scouts of America Bay-Lakes Council has established a goal to raise $125,000 in each of three years, through 2020, for its Career Exploring for Future Workforce initiative. For more information, visit www.baylakesbsa.org or contact Brent Bowman, director of support services, atBrent.Bowman@Scouting.org.
