CATalyst for Career Readiness
Team Members: Mike Carter, Beverly Cowart, Oscar Douglas, Jerry Evans, Debbie Romano, Julie Walker, Marty Watson, Karen Wrighten
CATalyst for Career Readiness provides an opportunity to build career readiness for area high school students. In partnership with the Charleston County School District’s Career and Technology Education Support Team, CATalyst for Career Readiness is providing mentorship and worksite access to 15 seniors at North Charleston High School. With the ultimate goal of confirmed employment prior to graduation, students first complete self-discovery activities and employability lessons, then participate in a series of awareness field trips to worksites aligned with their career interests.
The program begins with an introductory session at the school that includes meeting area professionals on the team, practice interviews, and tips on professional appearance and work attitude. Over the next few weeks, the program goes out into the professional world for site visits and first hand observation of career opportunities. This year’s program featured field trips to the SC Ports Authority, Trident Technical College’s Culinary Institute of Charleston, and the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). These site visits featured interactive exchanges between the students and area professionals, providing the students with real-world examples of career opportunities as well as contacts and resources to help them prepare and apply for jobs.
The program closes with a recognitions ceremony at the school, during which the students present in their own words a summary of their experiences, and also receive helpful tools for taking the next steps career readiness.
At the conclusion of this year’s project, CATalyst for Career Readiness will meet to explore future partnership suggestions, ways to track program success, and provide the students ways to continue to interact with each other and professional mentors. These follow-up steps will help ensure that the program is sustainable in future years.