The Economic Development Association of Minnesota (EDAM) presented GPS::45::93 with its award for Program of the Year for its Innovative Approaches to Career Readiness initiative at EDAM’s 2019 Winter Conference. The Innovative Approaches program seeks to build connections between K-12 education and businesses to better prepare East Central Minnesota students for careers in the 21st century workforce.
“We all know that our kids are our future,” said Carla Vita, North Branch Community Development Director and GPS’s Workforce Committee Chair. “In the past, economic developers spent our time solely on attracting businesses and redevelopment, but not on our kids and the school districts within our communities. With Innovative Approaches to Career Readiness, educators, employers, and economic developers work together to develop a plan to improve the opportunities for our future—our kids. We are overjoyed with the new relationships that our program has achieved and will achieve.”
Innovative Approaches to Career Readiness launched with an educational event on May 4, 2018 that brought over 80 regional leaders in education, business, and economic development together. Representatives from the Hutchinson and Eleva-Strum School Districts presented on the manufacturing programs they have developed within their schools to prepare students for their future careers. In October, GPS organized a tour of Eleva-Strum’s Cardinal Manufacturing for interested stakeholders in
East Central Minnesota. As it heads into its second year, the Innovative Approaches program continues to explore new ways to
advance its mission.
GPS’s workforce committee is planning a second event for this coming May and will conduct an outcome evaluation survey of area school districts. GPS also plans to further engage area school districts to explore methods of developing creative new programming that meets each schools’ own path of innovation, budgets, student interests, and East Central Minnesota’s current and future workforce needs. As evidenced by the simultaneous development of several regional scholarship funds for community college education, East Central Minnesota has become a leader in the development of collaborations between business and education to advance a common future for the region.
The Economic Development Association of Minnesota (EDAM) is a state-wide association of professionals who specialize in economic development. Its membership consists of public, private and nonprofit professionals who are interested in staying informed and connected to current economic development strategies and best practices. Its Program of the Year award “recognizes a creative new program or initiative that has been developed to help businesses or a community to thrive, grow and
prosper, demonstrating success, creativity and innovative thinking.”
The Innovative Approaches to Career Readiness program relies on the generous support of the Initiative Foundation and the tireless efforts of GPS’s Workforce Committee, plus additional support from area school district, the East Central Regional Development Commission and City of North Branch.
