Job prospects dim for dropouts

If you want a job in Catawba County, you'd better have a high school diploma.

That's the message of Catawba County's Education Matters, a program being developed for the graduates of 2012 by Catawba Valley Community College, Newton-Conover City Schools, Catawba County Schools, Hickory Public Schools, Champions of Education, the Catawba County Chamber of Commerce and several businesses in the area.

"The U.S. is the only industrialized nation in the world in which young people are less likely to graduate from high school than their parents," said Lamar Mitchell, director of Champions of Education, citing information from the Alliance for Excellent Education.

Education Matters was created to encourage students to graduate from high school. The program is designed to help nurture students in school, but to also help businesses create an environment that states a clear message to the community — a high school education is the minimum of what is acceptable for a job.

"This is a government and municipality commitment: to promote parental involvement in schools, in economic incentive agreements, employee participation in graduation projects and saying that high school diplomas or GED equivalents are either required or strongly encouraged," said Garrett Hinshaw, president of CVCC.

The three school systems in Catawba County will work with students to help them develop an Education Matters Future Ready Portfolio during high school. Beginning with the graduating class of 2013, students will be able to hand to a prospective employer a portfolio with everything someone might need to help determine if he or she wants to hire that person, Hinshaw said.

"There will be letters of recommendation from the teachers, attendance records, grades, test scores, writing samples, anything that will demonstrate their performance," he said. "Students can remove items from the portfolio if they don't want them in there, but area businesses will expect certain things to be in there and will know if something has been removed."

CVCC is also making a commitment for Education Matters. Hinshaw vowed that although all graduates from the college should already be properly trained in their fields, there would be a guarantee on their education in critical thinking, problem solving and communication with all graduates, beginning with those in the graduating Class of 2012.

"The CVCC guarantee is that they will have the specific skill set developed by grads from CVCC for their area," Hinshaw said. "If employers feel that they aren't properly trained, we'll re-educate them for free. The accountability is on CVCC to demonstrate that the students have learned the proper skills to their employers."

Graduates from CVCC will have a portfolio, as well.

CVCC also will conduct employability training, ensuring students know how to properly act and dress in a professional work environment and are ready for a professional job.

Businesses in the community must do their part to ensure students stay in school by making a commitment, as well. At the minimum, they should encourage all new hires, beginning in 2012, to try to obtain a high school diploma or GED.

The minimum certification level, bronze, asks employers to prefer not to hire anyone without a GED or high school diploma.

Other criteria, which is for the silver and gold certifications, as well, include promoting leave for parental involvement in schools, providing human and capital resources in support of education annually, displaying "Education Matters" certification in a prominent location and participating in Champions of Education activities.

Silver and gold certification levels require all new hires at a business, effective in 2012, have a minimum of a high school diploma or its equivalent, such as a GED. People currently enrolled in high school or an approved program meet this requirement.

Gold certification also requires businesses to encourage employees to participate in educational opportunities as a tutor, mentor, volunteer or other capacity.

Governments in the county have not been left out of the mix. The Economic Development Corp., the Western Piedmont Council of Government, Catawba County and the municipalities within the county have been asked to commit to allowing employees leave for parental involvement in schools, requiring industries to be an Education Matters program when developing economic incentive agreements, encouraging employees to participate in high school graduation projects and more.

Tom Lundy, manager for Catawba County, said this initiative is nothing new for the county.

"We employ 1,100 people. Forty-five percent of our jobs require more than a high school diploma, but 100 percent of our jobs require a high school diploma, because we want to encourage an education," he said. "We've inserted in new employment agreements for economic incentives that anyone under 25 must have a high school education. Forty-eight percent of the county's budget goes to education, and we want our kids to go the distance."

Hinshaw said with the newly created Education Matters program, he thinks students will go the distance if everyone in the community gets involved.

"This program is a long-term commitment," said Hinshaw. "We would love to see education entities and businesses involved with this."