Educators preparing tomorrow’s employees today

What do you want to be when you grow up?
It’s a question many young people are frequently asked in passing by adults. In the near future, it’s a question counselors will be asking elementary school-aged youngsters in the hope of starting to map their educational path in the years ahead.
“I think the focus in the future is going to be a lot more on starting those kids with some early career counseling even at the elementary school,” said Roger McGregor, director of the Hannibal Career & Technical Center (HCTC). “We’re starting to focus hard on it at the middle school. We’re identifying what career interests a student has and trying to put them in what we would call a ‘career-cluster path’ to get them where they want to be when they graduate high school.”
It is not uncommon, however, for students to reach Hannibal High School without having selected a definite career path.
“There are some students that are very focused and know, but there’s a large number of students who still don’t know,” said Mark Eggleston, director of guidance at HHS.
Even after high school, some students are still trying to plot their career course, according to Wendy Johnson, MACC’s area higher education center director in Hannibal.
“We do sometimes have undecided students. We talk about maybe some general-education classes that would work for getting them started, regardless of what degree they end up choosing the next semester,” she said.
To help students hone their future job focus, counselors frequently guide students to Missouri Connections, an Internet program made available through the state of Missouri.
“It has an interest inventory. It has a career aptitude test,” said Eggleston, noting that the site is frequently utilized by freshmen and sophomores. “It’s intended to give you some direction, but of course there’s no test that’s going to tell you exactly what you should do or what you’re best at.”
If a student changes his or her mind about their career goal, all is not lost.
“We have two primary goals - we need to get everybody ready to graduate and we need to have everybody ready to do something after high school,” said Eggleston. “We’re going to push our students the best we can to keep their options open for going to college. Not everybody is going to choose that, but we sure do like to have them prepared if they do choose that. Then if their junior or senior year they say, ‘I’d like to go on to a technical school or to start at a two-year college,’ at least they have choices than if we just say, ‘If you just think you’re going to a two-year college after high school we’re not going to worry about everything else that meets all the requirements.’ We’d like for them to have the option to go wherever they want to go.”
Eggleston estimates the 60 to 65 percent of HHS graduates plan to go to a two- or four-year college, or a technical school after high school.
“We still have a good number who look straight for employment,” he said, adding that many students who immediately go into the workforce will eventually join an apprenticeship program, enter a technical school or enroll at a college.
The HCTC, which offers approximately 16 career programs, has some students ready to enter the workforce after completing certain programs.
“Some of our adult programs like practical nursing and respiratory care, they’re designed to enable that person to walk right in as a practical nurse or registered respiratory therapist,” said McGregor, adding that automotive technology and welding are careers with great employment potential. “As far as our other programs, the goal is to prepare kids to take that next step. That’s either into the workforce, a technical school, trade school or even a four-year college.”
MACC can either be a stepping stone to those wanting more education, or a springboard into the employment field.
“We actually offer both types of degrees,” said Johnson. “We offer transfer degrees as well as associate of applied science degrees where they are prepared to go directly to the workforce.”
As the economy tightens, is MACC seeing more workers enroll to enhance their skills?
“We continually see that regardless of where the economy stands,” said Johnson. “We are continually seeing non-traditional students wanting to come back and get classes with us to better their employment and to further their opportunities.”
Hannibal-LaGrange College graduates frequently have jobs already lined up by the time they graduate, according to Dr. Karry Richardson, associate dean of academic and career services. A survey of HLG students prior to graduation shows approximately 60 percent already have a job secured.
“It does depend upon not only their major, but their own career aspirations. Are they’re wanting to stay in the area, or flexible as far as relocating,” she said.
While the economy may hinder some HLG graduates, there are certain fields that are in high demand.
“We have some areas like nursing and education where there is really going to be a shortage and has been a shortage,” said Richardson.
According to Richardson, HLG helps equip students with the skills they’ll need to find post-graduation employment.
“We start at the freshman level in our success in education course,” she said. “They do a project that’s called an informational interview so that they begin to understand what employers are looking for.”
Freshmen also participate in an online career exploration program.
“We try and start them from Day 1 beginning to look at career opportunities, how that matches their personality, their skills, their abilities and to just look at the world of work from a broader view,” said Richardson.
HLG also has available a one credit hour community service course.
“It’s kind of an earn-and-learn situation where students can give their time to an organization or a business in order to learn about that work area and also gain academic credit for what they learn,” said Richardson.