Area high schools students could get on-the-job training at a Naperville online business this summer to help prepare them for a career.
Sixty students from Naperville District 203 and Indian Prairie District 204 schools toured digital marketing and tech company Dealer Inspire Tuesday as part of a test partnership with Naperville nonprofit KidsMatter.
The launch of this joint business/nonprofit/school venture known as Career Pathways is aimed at exposing juniors and seniors via hands-on learning to various jobs and industries, said Kamala Martinez, KidsMatter CEO and executive director.
“Today, we know that in the workplace there is constant innovation and it’s constantly changing. We know companies are looking for different skill sets than they were 10 years ago,” Martinez said. “Today companies are looking for such attributes as critical thinkers, effective communicators and dominant collaborators.”
Some students will enter the workforce right after high school and possibly take a technical skills training program in coding, welding or manufacturing, she said. Others will pursue an associates program or four-year program before entering the work force.
“Each and every one of you here today has a pathway,” Martinez told the high school students. “Also note that you do not have to have a 4.5 GPA and a four scale to go to Harvard or Stanford or Yale to be successful. There are many pathways to success.”
Jill Hlavacek, District 203 director of innovation and learning, and Brian Giovanini, Indian Prairie’s director of innovation, said teachers reached out to the 60 juniors and seniors who active in business, programming and marketing courses to see if they’d be interested in participating.
Besides the learning, Hlvacek said program gives students a chance to affirm their pathway passion early-on, rather than invest time and money on a worthless degree or a job they hate.
Tuesday’s launch gave students a look at what is possible.
The next step, Martinez said, will be for the students to consider applying to Dealer Inspire for a summer internship based on interest they showed on a questionnaire they filled out on Tuesday.
Martinez expects about 30 students will be invited back in March to learn more about the Naperville business so they can decide which department — accounting, development, content development, customer service and performance management analytics — would be the best fit if they want to apply for an internship.
KidsMatter will work with students on job applications, resumes and interview skills in April, Martinez said, and Dealer Inspire is to notify students by May 1 so they plan for the internship from June 15 to July 28.
At the end of the summer program, students will present what they learned in a showcase and each will be given a scholarship of at least $1,000 that can be applied to any post-secondary educational cost, she said.
What KidsMatter learns from this pilot program will be expanded to other businesses and industries.
Hlavacek said Career Pathways will be flexible so any type of company can be included.
While summer internships work for Dealer Inspire, Martinez said she’s already working with a manufacturing company to develop a program where students would attend high school half a day and get training toward certification in the afternoon. The plan is for students to have a guaranteed job when they graduate high school, she said.
Dealer Inspire is an ideal fit for its pilot because the company has hired employees from all educational backgrounds, including high school grads, those with two- or four-year degrees and people with master’s degrees, she said.
“This was the perfect company to partner with,” Martinez said.
CEO and founder of Dealer Inspire Joe Chura said he got involved because he believes in the importance of giving back. “You will get back 10 (times) more when you give than you receive,” he said.
Other companies interested in partnering with the school and KidsMatter can reach out to Martinez, Hlavacek or Giovanini.
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