Over the last couple of weeks, the Chamber, along with many other volunteers from local businesses, participated in mock interviews for Cranberry and Titusville High Schools. Held both virtually and in-person, these interviews help students prepare for real-world experiences, as they apply for jobs, post-secondary education, or scholarships.

Our staff came away from interviews very hopeful that our schools are preparing students well. The students we had the chance to visit with seemed to have a good grasp of the employer expectations, and many already have solid work experience to list on their resumes. We recognize the need for more conversations with students about how they’re experiencing work—what factors are lending to a positive experience and where they’re facing challenges that we can help them navigate.

There’s so much value as an organization in hearing firsthand what our students think about the world of work. So many times, we view work from our own perspective and years of our unique experience, but when we have these conversations, we can learn about what has changed in the workplace and what hasn’t. Predictability and good communication continue to be valued by all employees, but newer workers have other expectations that may be different than ours.

As we enter this holiday season and find ourselves surrounded by friends and family, we encourage you to talk with young people about their work lives. You may gain a new perspective on how to be better employers and how to better prepare the emerging workforce.

It’s vital for business leaders to be involved with the schools and look for more ways to collaborate on these valuable career experiences for students, but also consider where in your lives you may be able to have conversations with current and future members of the workforce.

If you’re inspired to learn about more opportunities for educators and businesses to work together, please join our monthly education email that’s sent out the 15th of each month (and please submit content by the 10th).

Subscribe at www.venangoready.org.

This article was published in the Venango Chamber’s December 2021 VenangoWorks! Newsletter.