Welcome to On The Job, our new blog where we'll share updates about The Chamber's newest initiative - addressing workforce gaps in our community. We are officially 2 months into this venture and I've spent this time meeting with Sangamon County high schools and our members to learn more about what they're doing for career and workforce development and exploring where the gaps exist. My goal for our work is to build something that compliments the works our schools are already doing while addressing opportunities I'm hearing from our employers. As a result of these meetings, we're in the process of developing some really exciting programming for our high school and college students to encourage more students to pursue careers right here in Springfield. 

For those I haven't had the chance to meet with yet - how are you engaging with the next generation? Are you hosting students for a job shadow day? Have you partnered with a class to offer a work-based learning project addressing a challenge in your company? Do you have an insanely successful internship program? Send me an email and tell me about it!

Maybe you haven't done any of that but your interest is peaked. If you'd love to be more involved with a Sangamon County classroom but haven't found the right connection yet, send me a note and let's figure it out!

Going forward, I'll be using this space to share more about the work The Chamber is doing, stories from our members and their workforce programs, and industry insights that you may find helpful. As we get closer to launching our own programming, we'll be sharing more about how you and your teams can get involved. Stay tuned!

Kendra Vincent
Workforce Director