Lexington, KY - For roughly 200 Fayette County high school seniors, heading back to school this year will mean taking their first steps into the real-life workplace.
Currently in its 32nd year, the Fayette County Public Schools' Experience Based Career Education (EBCE) program allows students to field-test up to five potential career paths throughout the year at hospitals, businesses and government agencies throughout the Bluegrass region.
Students enrolled in the program have more than 500 sites to choose from, said EBCE Program Manager Brian Miller. Depending on their interests and their previous track record at school, those students accepted for EBCE can experience the daily ins-and-outs of a wide range of occupations, including heart surgeon, plumber, hairdresser, museum curator, baker or funeral director. Throughout the year-long course, each student rotates through five internships with different businesses for four to six weeks each, giving them a real-life taste of multiple potential career paths.
"We're giving the kids an opportunity to find something that they truly have a passion for," Miller said. In addition to the off-campus internships, the EBCE program features an academic curriculum that encourages students to learn and share more about the industries they observe. Students keep a journal and conduct research projects, in addition to practicing job skills such as how to write a resume and cover letter. They are also encouraged to share their findings and experiences with freshmen students at their respective high schools.
For the hundreds of businesses that host the program's interns each year, the value is self-evident, said James Lucero, CAD/BIM manager for Sherman Carter Barnhart and intern coordinator for the office.
"We have an opportunity to shape a young person's life," Lucero said. "We've had students who come in and when they leave, they call back to tell us they've signed up with the school of architecture at UK. We've had parents who call and say, 'Thank you. My son or daughter is excited about their career choice.'"
While the internships can solidify a student's interest in a particular career field, for some students, the experience has changed their perspective entirely, which is equally valuable, Lucero said.
"They have no idea how much I look forward to them," said assistant commonwealth's attorney Carolyn Miller, who coordinates EBCE internships for the Fayette Commonwealth's Attorney's Office. The office usually accepts two to four interns for every rotation, she said, which has given them a good sense of the students' capabilities. "They are great help. We are a state agency, and they help us with office work. There are projects here that don't get done without them."
Carolyn Miller said interns in her office soon realize that a career in law or law enforcement is very different from what they may have seen on television. The students get the chance to attend court and observe different proceedings, and many return for additional internship experience as college undergraduates and graduate students.
In addition to aiding the students in refining their career choices, Carolyn Miller said the students' enthusiasm and eagerness to learn has an overall positive effect on the workplace atmosphere.
"I love to get their perspectives on things," she said. "If businesses want to keep themselves marketable to the younger demographic, that's a great tool. Why pay for a public opinion poll when there's one sitting in your office?"
While for some industries, the internship primarily entails shadowing and observation, many interns are given the opportunity to participate in projects and even critique the business. Students who wish to participate in the EBCE program submit an application, transcript and letters of recommendation for consideration, and the program organizers look at the students' past performance and attendance as well when considering placement opportunities, Brian Miller said.
Program interns show interest in a variety of career choices, Miller said, but opportunities in the medical and legal fields are always popular. The program has also seen heightened demand for placements in the fields of engineering and architecture, areas where the program is actively working to recruit more business sites.
And because the program has been in existence for more than three decades, some former interns are getting the chance to return to it - now as mentors in hosting businesses.
The familiarity that the students gain simply by being in the company of experienced professionals is often underestimated, Brian Miller said.
"When they go to the site, they are getting benefits they don't even realize," he said. "They've walked the halls that a doctor would walk. They are sitting in rooms with lawyers and architects."
Beyond helping students to reinforce or rule out certain professions for themselves, the EBCE program can help to demystify the workplace in general for students and give them added confidence in whatever career they eventually pursue, Brian Miller said.
"It gives them a comfort zone," he said. "It gives them a heads-up on how to handle themselves in a business environment. It's all a learning curve."
For more information about the EBCE program or to inquire about signing up your business as a possible host site, contact Brian Miller at (859)381-4146 or by e-mail at brian.miller@fayette.kyschools.us.