By Karyn Winters and Angela Grouse
GLOW With Your Hands: Healthcare Co-Chairs
Volunteers from across the GLOW Region recently conducted another successful hands-on career exploration workforce development program for local students, demonstrating that we have the foundation for providing the next generation of the healthcare workforce.
Our first GLOW With Your Hands: Healthcare event welcomed 575 students from 29 school districts across Genesee, Livingston, Orleans, and Wyoming counties, along with 225 representatives from more than 50 agencies and employers guiding students about careers and pathways in the healthcare sector.
We are familiar with the current state of healthcare, especially in rural areas such as the GLOW region. There is a need for prepared workforce candidates in the healthcare industry. We wanted to take the model we built for GLOW With Your Hands: Manufacturing and mirror it for the healthcare sector. We have seen the impact other hands-on career exploration events have had on employers; this was the perfect industry to engage with on such an initiative.
Vendors and sponsors engaged students with hands-on activities and friendly conversations throughout the day-long event. GLOW With Your Hands: Healthcare offered hands-on displays, and even an EMT station where students could simulate life-saving activities such as CPR.
Students used the opportunity to explore careers in healthcare that they may have an interest in and others they may not have been familiar with. Our vendors are subject matter experts with on-the-job experience, and they were well-equipped to answer any questions students had throughout the day.
An event of this scale – the largest ever healthcare career exploration event in our region – would not have been possible without the support of so many public and private sector entities. A big thank you to our friends at ESL Federal Credit Union, who made a significant investment that was so important in building momentum for a successful event. There is a reason we see continued support for these types of career exploration events – employers know they can recruit from a well-educated and prepared pool of potential workers seeking career opportunities right in their own backyard.
In addition to the support of vendors, 75 people from across the community volunteered their time to assist us throughout the day-long event, serving as tour guides, distributing lunch, and more. This event would not have been possible without their help.
Most of all, thanks to the students who once again expressed such strong enthusiasm for exploring career opportunities through another successful GLOW With Your Hands event! We are excited that the fourth annual GLOW With Your Hands: Manufacturing event is less than 6 months away!
