HELP GROW YOUR FUTURE WORKFORCE

Are you looking for extra summer staff, that’s free, to help around your office? What if you could get that extra free help AND make a big difference in the life of a teenager?

You can! YES (Youth Employment Services) is currently looking for area employers to participate as a worksite for the Summer 2023 Program:

• Summer work dates will run from June 19–July 28 2023.

• YES works with Champaign Unit 4 students who are at least 14 years old to provide them with meaningful work experience they need for future dream jobs.

• Students work up to 105 hours and their pay is covered by YES (unless an employer opts to hire directly).

• All paperwork related to payroll and taxes is covered by a payroll agent with employers just responsible for verifying timecard data on payroll weeks.

• Last year YES served 107 students and had 35 employers participate.

• This year YES will serve almost double that number of students, so will need even more employers to provide students with employment opportunities.

Partnering with YES might be a good fit for your business if:

• You need some extra help on projects or tasks, but aren’t able to hire additional staff.

• You want to provide exposure and better knowledge about your field to high school students who will soon be part of your talent pipeline.

• You have a desire to connect your business to the community in a meaningful way.

What YES provides:

• A week of soft skills training for all students in the program prior to employment.

• An in-person spring career fair in April (date TBD), that students are required to attend, providing employers the chance to hold mini-interviews with students.

• Student matches with employers that are determined across a variety of data points, including age, prior experience, skills/interests, schedule availability, transportation access and results of the career fair interviews.

• A worksite coordinator that will be your direct liaison to the program, the student(s) and their families.

• An onboarding/orientation session for employers to go over basic expectations of the program and how best to prepare for having a high school student at your workplace.

If you are interested in participating, please complete the Employer Interest Form by March 1 at https://forms.gle/duor6A8tcVGQYJhP6 or scan the QR code.

If you have questions before deciding, please reach out to Mindy Smith, Supervisor, Youth Employment Services, at smithmi@u4sd.org.

BY: BEN HANNAUER MARKETING & COMMUNICATION INTERN

“An educated workforce is the foundation of every community and the future of every economy.” These words reassure what many already knew to be true. To have a driven and successful labor force, those who make up said workforce must be educated.

For long stretches of this country’s history, those who made up most of the workforce had no access to a base education, let alone to on-the-job education provided at work. While those days are long gone, this impact is still felt by large and small businesses across the country.

One thing that has remained unblemished through all of this is the concept of the American dream, the pursuit of a better life for oneself and their descendants. Yet without an education, either learned in a classroom or through experience, an individual can find it extremely difficult to ascend the economic ladder in this country.

In the modern economy, employers and employees have almost unlimited resources regarding additional skills training and education. It is up to the respective parties to determine what works best for them.

While the establishment and its staff share the burden of continued education, there are things that both can do to contribute to the process and make it easier on one another.

One recommendation from the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) is that employers offer a bevy of accommodations and incentives for employees working while going to school. Financial or not, incentives demonstrate support for employees who may be experiencing considerable stress as they attend work and school. Additionally, retention rates spike when employees are offered additional learning opportunities. According to The Lorman Blog, a website focused on employee educational opportunities, retention rates rise 30-50 percent in companies with strong learning cultures. This retention rate is in addition to the fact that 70 percent of employees would likely leave their current job for another company known for investing in employee development and training.

Pursuing a higher standard of learning has always been paramount to those in the workforce, yet the resources to do so have only sometimes been available. Today, despite nearly endless options, only a couple maintain constant popularity.

One such avenue of continued education is the apprenticeship (also called internship), a training option popular in many trade careers. The modern-day apprenticeship represents one of the foremost opportunities for individual growth and workforce modernization in a local and state economy increasingly influenced by globalization.

Often consisting of a classroom and an on-the-job portion, apprenticeship programs provide individuals with the skills they need going forward, helping them develop hirable traits when the time comes. Businesses that host apprenticeship programs gain access to a highly skilled workforce, improve productivity and reduce employee turnover. When combined, these exemplify symptoms of success for a thriving business and are provided by an industry-curated solution that delivers skilled employees.

Opportunities for employee growth can come through more than just the business itself. Local institutions of higher learning often give community members chances for self-improvement. These classes provide affordable and quick opportunities for employees to grow their knowledge base and return to the workforce with greater skills and knowledge.

Here in Champaign County, there is a bevy of educational opportunities, each greeting an individual with an offering of renewed hope, propelling both person and career to new heights.

The Champaign County Chamber of Commerce is just one of these invaluable resources. Employers can invest in an employee’s journey of continued education today by checking out the opportunities at champaigncounty.org and navigating to the Workforce Development page. The resources needed to capitalize on the educational resources found throughout Champaign County.

Pursuing an education while on the job should be something that a person is rewarded for, not chastised. Incentivizing employees who continue their education and upgrade their skills may inspire others. Allowing employees the opportunity for selfgrowth does not mean that the business has to come second. Instead, the company can become an instrument through which they grow and expand their knowledge -- thus helping the company to grow. A higherskilled workforce is an added benefit for the company.

If the current workforce skills are not meeting employers’ needs, the business community is positioned to help elevate those skills. Encouraging employees to pursue further training does not have to burden a business; it should invigorate it. Across Illinois, there are plenty of opportunities for companies to train and educate their employees, all while coming at minimal cost for the business, forging a symbiosis between the two groups that help companies to grow and develop.

Allowing employees the opportunity for selfgrowth does not mean that the business has to come second. Instead, the company can become an instrument through which they grow and expand their knowledge.

Furthering employee education should be more than just the employee’s responsibility. Instead, the burden of additional employee training should be shared by both employer and employee, striving to push the workforce to new heights.