Suppose I could offer you an opportunity to grow your future workforce?

Growing your future workforce while impacting and mentoring thousands of young high school students is available through OneFuture Coachella Valley’s Business Engagement Team. Business leaders and owners taking part in this opportunity are also developing a pipeline of next generation talent.

As business leaders, Avid Physical Therapy partners with the three local school districts to deliver work-based learning programs for high school career academies. These academies are three- to four-year programs focused around specific industries such as health care, digital arts, culinary arts and renewable energy. There are a total of thirty-four academies located at eleven high schools within the three local K-12 districts.

Academy students take on a full college-prep academic schedule like all other high school students in addition to a series of career-themed technical courses that allow them to explore future careers and develop skills before they graduate. Academy students also gain real-world experience through a series of work-based learning programs that build to robust and invaluable internships during their senior year. Businesses who host these students have an opportunity to groom their next generation of talent.

Does it work?

Avid has been involved in OneFuture’s business engagement team for the last five years. We provide internships, job shadowing, mentorship and advisory council input to all six medical and health related academies in local high schools. We also partner with other medical and health-related professionals to assist these businesses in starting their work-based learning programs and internships.

This opportunity has provided us with students who will become future employees who understand our medical and business culture and what it takes to provide the best medical and patient service while working in a team environment. Our current staff includes full- and part-time aides who were high school interns with us and now attend college. We also have two soon-to-be college graduates who will be going on to graduate school in physical therapy and joining our team when they complete their doctorate.

One of our business engagement team members, Michael Bills, director of human resources for JW Marriott, provides internships in culinary, recreation, health and wellness, loss prevention, engineering, horticulture, finance and accounting. Local students come from the designated academies providing the learning programs and coursework for these internships.

Imagine mentoring and training your future employees while they are in high school and ready to join your team once they graduate. The experience for both businesses and students can be life changing.

Bob Kambe is co-chair of OneFuture’s business engagement team as well as director of business development for the Avid Physical Therapy Clinics. For more information, visit www.onefuturecv.org and click “Learn More” by the Work-Based Learning icon to sign-on, or contact Bob at [email protected].