Teachers Spend Time in the Workplace

Career Ready Berks is encouraging workplace experiences not only for students, but also for Berks County educators. With the support of the Berks County Workforce Development Board and Berks County Business and Education Coalition, teachers are being offered two different opportunities to get out into business and industry to learn about the needs of the local workforce and bring that information back to their students.

The one-day job shadow is an opportunity for a teacher to spend a day in a local company and learning first hand the demands of the particular job. The teachers then participate in an on-line reflection forum, sharing their learning and lesson ideas with other educators around the county. Grant funding helps to provide the teachers with materials or resources necessary to bring the learning to life for their students back in the classroom. Often, valuable connections are developed and the business participants take an opportunity to visit the classrooms of the educators they worked with, giving the students even more information about careers and the workplace.

Another, more intense program, is the summer five day Teacher in the Workplace. During the summer months teachers are matched with an employer and they spend four days with their partner business. During this time they get an insider’s view of all departments and and systems within a company. The teachers demonstrate their learning through a multimedia presentation, shared with colleagues and the business representatives during an end of program celebration. Grant funding is also available to provide these teachers resources and materials to bring their learning back to their classrooms.

So far this year, almost 100 teachers from around the county have participated in the programs.
Both programs focus career readiness initiatives, providing access to career information and experiences to the 70,000 students in Berks County.