Cassadaga Job Corps Academy and businesses from throughout Chautauqua County joined thousands of employers and students around the country taking part in Groundhog Job Shadow Day recently.
Since1999, the initiative to engage students in the world of work has paired student students with workplace mentors to introduce students to the workplace and demonstrate the connection between academics, career training and career pathways. The goal of Groundhog Job Shadow Day is to match more than one million young people throughout the country with workplace mentors.
"Groundhog Job Shadow Day provides our students with the opportunity to learn what is really required to be successful in their chosen career pathway," said Kathleen Grisanti, Cassadaga Job Corps work based learning coordinator. "We are very happy that several local companies have partnered with us this year to offer our students the chance to go out and see professionals in their industry hard at work."
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From left are James Baron, a Jamestown Board of Public Utilities electrician, with Stephen Reid, a Cassadaga Job Corps student, during a recent Groundhog Day job shadow exercise.
Employers hosting student shadows this year include Jamestown Board of Public Utilities, Fredonia State Facilities and Maintenance Dept., BECC Electric, Gugino Heating and Plumbing, Buster Brown Bean Co, STEL's Southern Tier Meadows, The Care Center, Absolut of Dunkirk, CVS Pharmacy of Falconer, Heritage Village, Sherwin Williams of Dunkirk, NRG, Zehnder-Rittling of Buffalo and Fredrickson's Builder's Supply.
Students spent the day learning about the various businesses they visited and how others have pursued their professional interest and began their careers. Many students were given an opportunity to see and experience firsthand how to do different tasks, helping them to solidify their own decisions about the direction their career may follow.
"It gave me a chance to gain experience and learn that the skills and knowledge I have can allow me to pursue a career outside a nursing home,'' said Hillery Berggren, a certified nurses aid student. "I loved Southern Tier Meadows, the place and the people were amazing."
For more information, call Mrs. Grisanti at 595-4296, email Grisanti.kathleen@jobcorps.org or visit the Cassadaga Job Corps Academy's website at cassadaga.jobcorps.gov.