One of my passions is education. Tools4Success, a 501 ( c ) ( 3 ) non-profit organization, was started with 2 goals in mind: educating young people about the opportunities in the trades, the other 4 year degree, and providing a workforce for businesses. In my mind, to accomplish this, educators and businesses need collaborate on building a pipeline for young people to follow. The connection between education and business can be in any field, as we all need a skilled workforce.
I have been at this since 2014, and over the last few months I have had many asks from teachers for supplies needed in the classroom to teach masonry, carpentry, and electrical skills, among others. I am thrilled that I have gained their trust and they see that there are people outside of the education system willing to support their efforts. In case you don’t have the privilege of personally knowing any teachers, I’ll tell you they have a lot of responsibility, without a lot of support to accomplish all that is asked of them.
I hear from businesses all of the time that finding reliable workers is a challenge. Teachers tell me that students tend to listen to those outside the classroom about what it means to be a good employee and setting a path to success. I believe interaction between students, aged K-12, and businesses would instill knowledge of the expectations employers have, which they need to understand in order to be successful.
The joy that I receive knowing that I have helped a teacher share their knowledge successfully is beyond words. It is just a small thing, but if that is multiplied by all of the other “small” things that people are doing to help build a thriving workforce, I can see that our goals are achievable.
We here at P & G Built Solutions will be sharing our stories in the hope that everyone will realize that they can be a part of building the workforce of the future and educating our young people. Not to mention the added benefit of bringing people together!