District 88 partners with local businesses to provide students with real-world opportunities in the workplace

Left and right: Ken Tyrrell, President of The Cary Company, gives District 88 students a tour of the facility on Feb. 21. They visited the business as part of an initiative to provide students with real-world experiences in the workplace.

Top left and right: Bob Reibel, Director of Metal Finishing with SWD Inc., gives District 88 students a tour of the facility on Feb. 21. They visited the business as part of an initiative to provide students with real-world experiences in the workplace. Bottom: SWD Inc. President Rick Delawder greets the pupils.

On Feb. 21, nearly 20 Addison Trail and Willowbrook students visited The Cary Company and SWD Inc. in Addison as part of an initiative to provide students with real-world experiences in the workplace to help prepare them for college and career.

Those field trips were an aspect of the Addison Workforce Development Committee’s new Mentor Program. The participants were able to learn about the various departments and career opportunities at the companies, ask questions of employees and tour the facilities. The objective was to enlighten students to the various jobs available, using current employees to describe those positions, along with the educational background and other requirements needed at any level within the company. Another goal was to provide students with tips on interview and hiring practices and advice on what to include on a résumé. For more information about SWD Inc., go to www.swdinc.com. For more information about The Cary Company, go to www.thecarycompany.com.

The next step of the Mentor Program is to match professionals with students based on compatible career aspirations, so the pupils can shadow that person to learn more about a given field.

About the Addison Workforce Development Committee
The committee is comprised of the Village of Addison and local businesses and organizations. The focus of the group is two-fold:

1. Collaborate to provide opportunities to train students and adults for jobs available in the area (as well as offer programs such as internships and job shadowing)
   
   
2. Develop a directory of local businesses (including contact information, open positions and skills employees need to have)

The committee’s focus is to discover the needs of employers and help local students and adults get training to meet those needs.