It appears that educators are hungry for more career preparation resources.  When over 89% of educators responding to our latest Career Preparation survey said they were actively looking for or would like more career information, you can tell that the subject of Career Preparation is on most everyone's radar screen.  The respondents also said they strongly agreed or somewhat agreed that 79% of their students were concerned with their future career options.  This statistic aligns with the results in a recent student survey where 70% of students said they were worried about their future career.

The idea that 70 to 79% of our student population is worried or concerned about their future means we must stop and assess what we are doing in the classroom and in the home to prepare our youth for the world they will be entering in the next 4 to 5 years.  It is not unusual for us to hear a college graduate tell us that they don't know what to tell their parents now that they have graduated and still don't know what they want to do as a career.  A recent report said that there are more students entering community college with bachelor's degrees than incoming freshman because they need to learn the skills to get a job. 

As Vital Link moves forward with the development of additional resources for teachers, counselors, career specialists and parents, we hope to address the student's concerns.  If you are interested in being part of the solution and want to work with Vital Link by providing your expertise, please contact us at 949-646-2520 or kathy@vitallinkoc.org.

 

 

Kimberley Dall and Linda Wright from State Street delivered a GIANT check for $25,000 to the Vital Link office in June (which represented the largest donation the Irvine office has given to an organization).  This 2007 Business of the Year recipient's enthusiasm continues to grow as they expand their involvement in the organization at all levels of leadership.  We are pleased to announce that Kimberley Dall was named to the Vital Link Board of Directors for the 2008-09 year.  

 

 

Cox Communications was a life-saver for the Vital Link Staff and office volunteers when they donated 9 computers.  Operating on 10 year old equipment can slow down the creative process, but with this donation and the donation of IT manpower from Bear Technologies, Vital Link will step into the 21st century with it's technology.

 

In addition to the generous computer donation, Cox Communications has also supported Vital Link by providing a tour of their facility to middle school students to show them the career opportunities in their industry.

 

 

 

Whether it was a Regional Advisory Board meeting in 1 of 6 different industry sectors, or a Career Exploration Program with 200 to 1,200 attendees, everyone who participated agreed that the 2007-08 year was a success.  Vital Link once again showed they are on the cutting edge of program development and brought in new business partners to provide students and educators with experiences they could not duplicate in the classroom. 

 

We want to thank our ongoing Career Exploration Program business supporters whose contributions of time, talent and capital made this year's programs such a success.  Over 3,700 students participated in the programs, and the student's evaluations showed the program's impact on the way they look at their future career direction.

 

Summer is the time for planning the next year's programs, and this year the Vital Link staff and volunteers are moving into fast forward with new and creative programs for the 2008-09 schedule.  There will be a repeat of the popular Medical Careers in Action event and other sold out programs, but, as always, the Vital Link team is taking the lead in innovative programming.

 

Two new Career Exploration Programs are being developed - Careers in Environmental Technology and Becoming an Entrepreneur (with a special focus on girls).  Watch for our schedule, which will be published in September.  Contact the Vital Link office if you are interested in attending events or being a part of the dynamic Career Exploration planning team. 

 

 

The Career Exploration Center continues to create interest and receive support from the community, businesses and educators.  The creation of a facility that provides Career Exploration experiences, assessment, capabilities, resources for students and educators, as well as providing a central point of contact for business and education, seems to resonate with everyone.

 

At the June Orange County Business Council Workforce Development Committee meeting, the committee, including Chairman Chris Harrington from Toshiba and Bill Habermehl, Superintendent of the OC Department of Education, voted unanimously to support the Career Exploration Center project.

 

During the June Vital Link Board of Directors meeting, the vision came closer to reality when Denise Clynes, Chair of the Event Committee, presented a report defining the criteria for the use and capacity requirements.  Through a visual depiction of the committee's vision, Denise brought the project to life.  The Board approved the concepts and agreed to continue moving the project forward and complete the research for the feasibility study.

 

Do you want to be a part of this transformational project?  Do you want to be a part of something that has the potential to help every student select their Careers by Choice, Not Chance?  Contact Kathy Johnson at the Vital Link office to find out how you can support this very exciting effort.

 

 

If you are interested in supporting Vital Link through an in-kind donation, the organization is currently looking for the following items: