L&I and Team Pennsylvania Award Grants to Prepare Students for Careers
Harrisburg, PA – The Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) and Team Pennsylvania today announced that $180,000 in Career Readiness Mini-Grants has been awarded to 41 school districts across the commonwealth. The grants will help students learn about career opportunities and create stronger connections between schools and community partners.
“We proudly support these career readiness projects, which help to build a bridge between school and real-world work experience,” said L&I Secretary Jerry Oleksiak. “Students need to explore their career options early, with hands-on training, so that they are well-prepared as they move into the workforce and post-secondary education.”
For this year’s grant program, Team Pennsylvania partnered with the Pennsylvania Association of Intermediate Units (PAIU) and Intermediate Units (IUs) across the commonwealth to review applications and select grantees, awarding $20,000 in each of the nine regions in the commonwealth. The mini grants were funded through a Strategic Innovation Grant from L&I with state Reemployment Fund dollars.
“This project perfectly aligns with our organizational principles of partnership and ensuring Pennsylvania’s economic prosperity,” said Ryan C. Unger, President & CEO of Team Pennsylvania. “Students and their families want the same end result as employers want: graduates who are ready, willing, and able to take on the careers of tomorrow. These mini-grants bring us one step closer to that vision, not just through the career readiness activities, but through the long-standing partnerships between education, workforce development, and businesses that develop during the program.”
The project supports a key priority for Governor Wolf to promote collaboration between the K-12 system and the workforce system. Successful applicants are required to work with their local Workforce Development Boards and base their work on regional labor market needs.
The career readiness activities funded by the mini-grants include:
- Conducting work-based learning experiences, job shadowing, and field trips to job sites;
- Providing online programs that assist students with career awareness and exploration;
- Facilitating professional development for educators;
- Hosting career fairs, guest speakers, and mock interview programs;
- Establishing, scaling, or sustaining career pathways; and
- Educating/engaging parents/guardians about high-demand industries in the region.
This is the second year that the Career Readiness Mini-Grants were awarded. In the 2017-2018 school year, more than 45,000 students participated in a Career Readiness Mini-Grant project across Pennsylvania.
“We were able to make contacts with many employers within the community,” said Kimberlie Rieffannacht of Huntington Area School District, one of last year’s grant recipients. “This opportunity gave us a broader picture of the local labor market. We were able to tie specific skills to careers that elementary learners can explore.”
Below is a complete list of school districts that were awarded the mini-grant:
- Allegheny Valley School District
- Allegheny-Clarion Valley School District
- Annville-Cleona School District
- Austin Area School District
- Blairsville-Saltsburg School District
- Clairton City School District
- Colonial School District
- Dallas School District
- Deer Lakes School District
- Eastern York School District
- Ferndale Area School District
- Greensburg Salem School District
- Hamburg Area School District
- Huntingdon Area School District
- Kutztown Area School District
- Lake-Lehman School District
- Lewisburg Area School District
- Meyersdale Area School District
- Middletown Area School District
- New Brighton Area School District
- Norristown Area School District
- Northampton Area School District – Moore Elementary School
- Northampton Area School District – Siegfried Elementary School
- Northeast Bradford School District
- Northwestern School District
- Norwin School District
- Philipsburg-Osceola School District
- Rockwood Area School District
- Saint Clair Area School District
- Salisbury Township School District
- Seneca Valley School District
- Shamokin Area School District
- Souderton Area School District
- Southern Tioga School District
- Trinity Area School District
- Valley View School District
- Wallenpaupack Area School District
- Waynesboro Area School District
- West Chester Area School District
- West Middlesex Area School District
- Williamsburg Community School District