Partnership Pays Off

...from INSIDE DISTRICT NEWS, a publication of the Cleveland Municipal School District.

Partnership Pays Off
AN INNOVATIVE PARTNERSHIP
BETWEEN Max Hayes and WIRENet’s
School-to Career Program is
providing students with preapprenticeships
and for some, full-time
jobs upon graduation.
Students interested in careers in
manufacturing are recruited for preapprenticeships
and job shadowing
opportunities at area manufacturing
companies and are also offered academic
support through tutoring. WIRE-Net
connects with member companies to
develop appropriate pre-apprenticeship
opportunities for students, then works
with Max Hayes instructors to identify
those best suited for the preapprenticeship.
WIRE-Net staff meets
with the prospective employer, the
student, and his/her instructor to
develop an appropriate training
program.
Besides spending 100 hours in their
pre-apprenticeship position, which
allows the student and the company time
to determine whether the pairing is a
‘good fit,’ students are paid $7 an hour
by WIRE-Net. Last year, 16 students
were placed in pre-apprenticeships and
more then half were hired as regular
employees. One student, now attending
North Carolina Agricultural &
Technical State University, returns to
Cleveland to work for the company he
was paired with during school breaks.
WIRE-Net’s School-to-Career
Program Manager, Jessica Malloy, says
the program’s growing success can be
attributed to a large base of member
companies, which allows for better
matches with student interests and trades.
A concerted effort is made to make the
pre-apprenticeships relevant to the
student’s future career. Max Hayes
Principal David Volosin says the WIRENet
partnership helps the school train the
workforce for the manufacturing skills
they will need in the 21st century. Volosin
added, “If we can teach the soft skills,
such as punctuality and hard work,
students will leave here so far ahead of
the game.”