Making every day Career Day in Waterloo Region

NEWS RELEASE

April 22, 2021

Making every day Career Day in Waterloo Region

Ayr, ON - Businesses and other organizations are challenged to help make every day Career Day. Individuals are challenged to share the story of their career journey to inspire students. After more than a year of disruption to the school year, the Business and Education Partnership of Waterloo Region (known as BEP Waterloo Region) is making this appeal because it is extremely concerned about the impact of the pandemic on the career decision making process of local students in grades seven to 12.

“We know that for young people to find their way after high school, they need opportunities to explore and experience the world of work first-hand. These experiences help them understand what they’re capable of and make classroom learning more meaningful. But there have been far fewer opportunities because of lockdowns and other measures to protect the health of people during the pandemic,” said Scott Verhoeve, the Executive Director of BEP Waterloo Region. “We’re asking people and businesses who have the capacity to step up and help us provide more of these opportunities for the year ahead.”

BEP Waterloo Region is building a list of organizations that want to know more about how they can provide learning experiences. The more organizations that express an interest, the better the chances are that there will be enough opportunities to meet both the pent up demand and the wide range of student interests through its partnership with local school boards. A form to express interest in getting involved is available at bepwr.ca .

“Every day young people are making decisions that influence their future career path,” said Verhoeve. “Failing to inform and inspire those decisions at a young age is a huge missed opportunity to build a stronger local workforce, economy and community for everyone. That’s why our goal is ‘Making every day Career Day.’ Our success though depends upon the collaborative efforts of the community to inspire our youth through stories, information and experiences. We invite you to join us.”

Individuals can contribute to making every day Career Day by joining the BEP’s Speakers Bureau. These volunteers make presentations to elementary and high school classes about what they do and how their past experiences contributed to their current work.

The appeal for Waterloo Region to be ready to help students determine and achieve their career aspirations continues to May 7.

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