Initially piloted in 2019 at Options High School featuring careers in the Arts and Healthcare, our Learning with Leaders program has come a long way. With the support of a grant from Career Connect Washington, we are thrilled to announce the expansion of the program to serve students throughout Whatcom and Skagit County! Learning with Leaders connects students with in-demand career pathways by providing exploration that focuses on local employment, education, and support services. Students will get real-time, tactile training, such as the chance to operate heavy equipment under the guidance of experts, take part in virtual simulations, and discover their strengths through kinesthetic learning experiences. These events will provide a foundation of exploration to connect students with prep classes offered in their high schools and colleges that will subsequently launch them into a career of their dreams.
The first large-scale event will launch in Fall 2023, so over this next year we will be creating three different events focusing on our region’s top, high-wage, in-demand career sectors (advanced manufacturing, construction, healthcare, and information technology). Each event will host all 5 of our Whatcom and Skagit county colleges, local training programs, financial aid resources, career support services, and much more to help guide students towards pathway opportunities after high school that they're excited about.
Wanting to create the most informed and relevant events possible, we are gathering local experts from our community and schools to create an advisory board composed of students, educators, nonprofit leaders, and professionals. The advisory board as a whole will meet quarterly and the subcommittees focused on each industry sector, will meet monthly. We are in the midst of recruiting our advisory team, so if you have any interest in joining please fill out this survey! If you are a high school student interested in joining our Youth Advisory Board, please fill out this survey! Surveys are also linked in the QR codes below.
We are also hiring a program assistant for the planning of this program so if interested please click this link to see the job description and how to apply!
Any questions about the program, the advisory board positions, or the program assistant position please reach out to our Learning with Leaders Program Coordinator, Ashby McCoy, at amccoy@futuresnw.org
Advisory Board Survey
Youth Advisory Board Survey