Businesses sought for student job shadows

MOSES LAKE — On Groundhog Day, Feb. 2, groundhogs won’t be the only ones looking for their shadows.

Two hundred and ninety Columbia Basin Job Corps students will be job shadowing employees at area businesses.

But first, more businesses are needed to make the event happen.

Edward Bush said he’s asking the community’s businesses if they can help students by letting them job shadow their employees, he said.

“It’s an awesome opportunity,” said Bush, the center’s acting business community liaison.

The activity gives student an idea of what jobs are about, he explained.

It would be nice if students could stay at a business for four or five hours, but even a few hours would be appreciated, Bush said.

After job shadowing, students will walk away from the activity with a variety of skills.

Some of the skills include seeing the relationship between their school work and careers, learning about the requirements of the current work force and the importance of mentoring, according to Bush.

Students will also be able to show skills required to find a job and stay employed and develop methods to achieve lifelong learning pursuits and career opportunities, he stated.

Employers can also participate by offering student tours of their businesses, which will extend the activity to Feb. 6 and provide more benefits to the community, he added.

Also that week, students will hear presentations about keeping their personal lives in order.

A Grant County Sheriff’s Office sergeant will talk about the importance of keeping one’s record clean and a representative from a consumer credit counseling service will discuss good personal financial habits, Bush said.

From a career aspect, job corps students have already figured out some of their job goals, which is why they ended up in the program, he said.

Job corps students are already entering high-demand fields, he said.

Job corps offers training programs in certified nursing assistant/phlebotomy, pharmacy technician, CISCO, culinary arts, painting, facilities maintenance, carpentry, plastering, welding and cement masonry.

Before a student leaves the program, they participate in a one-week exit program where contacts are made in their hometown regarding possible jobs, he explained.

Samaritan Healthcare is one of the organizations assisting with the activity this year, he said.

Samaritan is interested in students with healthcare pursuits and by pairing them with people in their career field, they receive first-hand experience, said Chandra Rodriguez, Samaritan’s human resource generalist.

Students are able to ask employees questions about their career paths and the employees are readily accessible to answer questions, she noted.

“We have a lot of students that come through this organization,” she said.

She mentioned Big Bend Community College’s nursing students and Washington State University students doing clinicals.

Students enrolled in pharmacy tech and office programs also gain experience at Samaritan, she said.

For more information, go online to www.jobshadow.org.

To sign-up as a job shadow mentor,  call 509-793-1694 or e-mail bush.edward@jobcorps.org with your name, title and time available on job shadow day.

Employers need to set aside enough time to share information about their jobs with students.