Darke County Economic Development (DCED) took its Junior Job Shadow Week online this school year during the last week of January. Over 180 students from Darke County schools and Upper Valley Career Center (UVCC) registered to learn more about specific careers through online conversations with area workers employed in their chosen field. The online “job shadows” were coordinated in lieu of the usual in-person job shadows, since many worksites are unable to host visitors due to COVID-19 protocols. Local businesses responded positively to the opportunity to connect with area students through the new online format. Career representatives were able to meet with several students at once, often from different school districts, allowing students to learn from the questions of other students, as well as their own.
“We didn’t want to see our high school juniors miss out on this important opportunity to learn about careers they are interested in. We believe these online career conversations can still provide valuable information & networking opportunities for our juniors, helping them to make more informed decisions about their future careers,” said Tamala Marley, DCED Workforce Specialist and coordinator of the event.
Students where able to choose from positions in a wide variety of careers including healthcare, engineering and technology, construction, design, human resources, law, logistics, marketing, information technology, social services, skilled trades, law enforcement, public safety, and more. Job Shadow Week is just one of the activities coordinated by Darke County Economic Development for the county’s emerging workforce, with the goal of keeping or attracting students back to Darke County to live and work.
Darke County Economic Development would like to thank the individuals and businesses who volunteered their time to participate, including Brethren Retirement Community, Brumbaugh Construction, Bruns Construction Enterprises, City of Greenville Fire & Police, Comprehensive Health Network, Darke County Sheriff’s Office, Darke County Veterinary Services, Direct Tooling Concepts, Family Health Services, Fort Recovery Industries, Garbig and Schmidt, Klockner Pentaplast, Lehman Chiropractic, Littman-Thomas Agency, Midmark Corporation, Mote and Associates, Ohio Rural Water Association, Recovery & Wellness Centers of Midwest Ohio, Spirit Medical Transport, The Andersons Marathon Ethanol, Village Green Health Campus, and Wayne Healthcare.