4 minute read
Realigned Mission, A Renewed Focus
The Partnership, Inc. restructures to meet the needs of Delaware’s business community
BY RICK DEADWYLER
THE PARTNERSHIP, INC. IS THE 501(C)(3) workforce development affiliate of the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce. It was created to promote charitable and educational activities by developing and fostering programs that encourage private sector involvement in workforce development and education. The Partnership consists of four flagship programs: Delaware Principal for a Day, Superstars in Education, Intern Delaware, and the Delaware Young Professionals Network. These four programs combined establish a workforce development pipeline from high school to career.
2021 was an incredible time of development for The Partnership.
To meet the growing and changing talent needs of its members, The Partnership realigned its mission and priorities to become better focused on workforce development and creating a pipeline of talent in Delaware. This led to the organization merging with Intern Delaware—a program dedicated to building Delaware’s future workforce by keeping talent in the First State—and rebuilding The Partnership’s board to include State Chamber members across multiple industries throughout the state.
We were glad to bring back a favorite program, Delaware Principal for a Day, which took place October 18 through 22. The newly reimagined program included a career day twist and placed business professionals into Delaware high schools, specifically targeting freshmen and sophomore audiences. Visiting guest principals gave presentations about their career paths and industries and highlighted high-demand jobs. In total, 34 guest principals visited 20 Delaware high schools as part of this year’s program.
“I was able to spend an hour with [the students] sharing about the work of the Delaware Data Innovation Lab and Tech Impact,” said Ryan Harrington of Tech Impact who shadowed the principal at Christiana High School. “It was a bit of a full circle moment for me. I started my career in education as a secondary math teacher at Glasgow High School, which is also in the Christina School District.”
Intern Delaware celebrated its second year of programming— and first under The Partnership—with seven signature events showcasing Delaware business and community leaders and four networking events. The program engaged 207 Interns from 30 Delaware companies this past summer. Most participants called Delaware home (79), followed by Pennsylvania (57), and New Jersey (20). Similarly, many attended college in Delaware (56), followed by Pennsylvania (52), and Virginia (13). Due to the pandemic, many internships were virtual, which allowed for participation from across the country—including Tennessee and Vermont. With goal of creating a stronger sense of community among the interns, staff developed an app to help interns communicate with each other as well as corporate partners and speakers, and even participate in an engagement game, challenging interns to explore the First State.
Tech Impact’s Ryan Harrington during his Principal for a Day visit.
2022 continues The Partnership’s trend of evolution and growth as Superstars in Education makes its return with a shifted focus on rewarding high school, post-secondary, and training and certificate workforce development programs. The Delaware Young Professionals Network will continue to grow and influence the next generation of Delaware leaders. Intern Delaware will return with a hybrid modality, offering in-person networking and educational opportunities for summer interns. The Partnership’s new board, intentionally selected to represent and oversee each of these programs, is enthusiastic about the future of The Partnership and its impact on the Delaware workforce development and education communities.
