WORCESTER – Thursday, October 3, 2024 – Local employers visited Worcester Technical High School on Thursday, October 3 for a Worcester Emerging Workforce Forum to discuss career technical education programming available within Worcester Public Schools (WPS) high schools.
The Worcester Emerging Workforce Forum aimed to educate employers on providing real-world work opportunities for WPS students attending career technical education (CTE) programming at Doherty Memorial High School, North High School, South High Community School and Worcester Technical High School.
The event was hosted in collaboration between WPS, Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, Quinsigamond Community College and the Central Mass. Region Workforce Board.
“We developed forums like this to bring local employers to us with the goal of creating better relationships and education around what our students do in WPS,” said Chris Kursonis, Director of College and Career Readiness for WPS.
“We want employers to discover the range of career technical education programming offered at our high schools, how they are organized, and which schools provide specific options for them to acquire talent. Many businesses are looking for employees and we want to work directly with them to tap into our talent pool,” Kursonis said.
Throughout the forum, WPS staff discussed how current career technical education programming prepares students to enter the workforce. Speakers also discussed the value of co-op, internship and apprenticeship opportunities for WPS students.
After the discussion, those in attendance were given a tour of the school’s career technical education programming spaces, including Auto Collision, Marketing and Finance, Electrical and several others. Employers were able to engage directly with students and teachers to gain a better understanding of how career technical education works within WPS.
The Emerging Workforce Forum is the first of such events slated for the 2024-25 academic year for local businesses. WPS has also begun a monthly speaker series to further engage businesses.