Taunton High School Business Department

Taunton Area School to Career, Inc.

Student internship program

History	Work-Based Learning	A Case and Point
Description	Employer Benefits	Contact

History:

The Taunton Area School to Work Partnership was created in 1995 as a result of the National School to Work Opportunities Act. In 1998, the Partnership incorporated to become the Taunton Area School to Career, Inc. Its mission is to:

Encourage students to become aware of and explore a variety of careers.
Provide necessary linkage between school and the world of work.
Provide experiences for students that reinforces and expands upon classroom learning.

Description:

The Taunton Area School to Career's Student Internship Program provides students with paid work experience. The internship helps students to:

Apply basic skills and knowledge to real work settings.
Learn current technological skills relevant to the industry.
Link the work experience with and academic/vocational class.
Understand the culture of the workplace.
Develop broad transferable workplace competencies.

Work-Based Learning:

To stay competitive, today's employers, large and small, need highly skilled people who can think critically, solve problems, make independent decisions, and be an effective team member.

There is growing concern, however, that employers will be unable to find workers meeting these qualifications. Research underscores that the nation is not adequately preparing young people to be productive workers. Part of the problem is that most young people do not see a connection between what they learn in school and their future careers. Schools alone cannot provide the students with the necessary combination of academic, technical and social skills. They need the support and cooperation of the business community. Schools and employers can created learning opportunities that expose young people to the skills, experiences and attitudes essential to succeed in today's economy.

Employer Benefits:

Recruit and train future employees.
Reduce employee training costs and turnover.
Improve the skill level of young adults in the community.
Share expertise about skills needed to work in the industry.
Influence curriculum development to meet industry standards.
Achieve good public relations.

A Case and Point:

A school to work partnership to provide work-based learning opportunities for local high school students approached a small real estate agency. The owner of the agency was interested but wary of committing too much of the company's time. After hearing that there were a wide variety of possible activities, the owner agreed to host a job-shadowing which required minimal time. After job shadowing experiences, the owner agreed to host students for internships. He said :

"We all got a lot out of the job shadow. The kids' acquired a taste of what it is like to work in a real estate office and we realize how helpful it could be. Now we want to have them for longer periods of time and really teach them about the business."

For more information contact:

Taunton Career Center

72 School Street

Taunton, MA 02780

(508)977-1428