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Northeast Adds Career Coaches
Northeast Alabama Community College has hired two Career Coaches with funding
provided by a grant secured by the Governor’s Office of Workforce Development
Region II, which encompasses much of the Tennessee Valley. The goal was to have
these Coaches work with high school students within Region II to set career
goals and to explore the possibilities for career choices. Career Coaches were
hired for five community colleges, Northeast, Calhoun, Drake, Snead, and
Wallace-Hanceville. The eighteen Career Coaches from these colleges came
together to form a team with common reporting forms, common curriculum, and a
common goal to learn as much about the business and industries in their assigned
areas as possible.
Northeast’s two Career Coaches are Whitney Manning from Woodville and Debby
Wooten from Rainsville. They serve DeKalb County, Jackson County, Fort Payne
City, and Scottsboro City. To date, Manning and Wooten have made career
presentations to a total of 2,285 students. Debby Wooten said, “We have made
many contacts with local businesses and industries including a visit to RTI and
the Gas House. We are constantly learning about career opportunities for the
students in our area.” Whitney Manning added, “Our work with the Jackson and
DeKalb Economic Development Agencies and the Greater Jackson County Chamber of
Commerce have helped to inform us of the future opportunities offered by TVA,
BRAC, and the VW plant to be located in Chattanooga.” Wooten went on to say, “We
have administered over 1000 career surveys to try to help students start working
on a career pathway.”
Dean Tonie Niblett, who supervises the Career Coaches, stated, “It is incredible
that our coaches have made such a showing in the short time they have been on
board. They have been overwhelmingly welcomed by local counselors and
principals. The Career Coaches do not perform the regular counseling duties of
the local school counselor. They are not credentialed counselors. They function
within the framework of the local school counselor’s career plan. They present
material about the Department of Labor’s 16 Career Clusters and the different
pathways or careers within each Cluster. They conduct presentations and
activities that help the students have a working knowledge of what is available
to them. The counselors have used the Career Coaches to enhance the school’s
plan.”
Hazel Haynes, Counselor at the DeKalb County Technology Center, stated, “The
Career Coaches are an additional reinforcement to assure that all students in
every school have the opportunities to explore various careers. They are a great
asset.” Paul Kennamer, Principal at Hollywood, said, “In our world of education,
we face an uphill battle with many at-risk students, the career coaches will
help us head them in the direction of thinking of the future. I feel that the
Coaches will be very important at the middle school level.”
The eighteen Coaches attended a two-day orientation and training session at
Calhoun Community College to provide information and on careers and resources
that are available to them. The coaches had a follow-up session to the
orientation at Snead Community College in which they set up a common website for
the material they develop. In this training the coaches made presentations in
which they shared material and ways of presenting each of the Career Clusters.
Dean Niblett attended this session and commented, “I came away from this meeting
inspired by the enthusiasm and energy of these Coaches. I am confident that this
group of coaches will be able to provide the most expert advice on careers and
career pathways that will be available in our area.”
NACC President Dr. David Campbell added, “We are very proud to be able to
provide the service of the Career Coaches to the local schools. We feel that
they will be able to help provide a seamless transition for students from high
school to postsecondary education which could include training for the
workforce. They will also help students connect with early entrance programs
such as Dual Enrollment, the Alabama Early College Enrollment Program (ECEP) and
Tech Prep. It is very encouraging that they have had such great support and help
from the local counselors and principals as evidenced by the large number of
students that the Coaches have connected with already. Because of this success,
we have requested that we be funded for two more Career Coaches to make a total
of four for this area. We have established a new Career Center on our campus
which will be the home base for the Coaches. This Center will enable area
students to obtain career information and do interest inventories to determine
career pathways.”
For more information about the Career Coaches or Career Services at Northeast,
contact Manning and Wooten at manningw@nacc.edu,
wootend@nacc.edu, or Dean
Niblett at niblettt@nacc.edu.
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