Contact: Laura Holden
Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board
412.552.7089

Printable (PDF) version

We read with interest and enthusiasm Joyce Gannon's article "Online database of alumni offers career guidance to college students" (Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Tuesday, 11/28/06). We were impressed with Pitt's online database and the resources cited in the article.

As an organization whose focus is helping the region through strategic workforce planning and by helping to align employer needs with jobseeker skills, we have become increasingly aware of the significance of mentoring in career education [in person and in cyberspace] for the public and private sectors. Earlier this year, we applied for and were awarded funding for one year from the Regional Career Educational Partnership Grant from the Pennsylvania State Department of Labor. Our role as an intermediary is to help build bridges between secondary schools and local employers so that students can make more informed decisions about life after high school.

The Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board's career education initiative E4: Educators and Employers Engaged for Excellence includes e-mentoring as an important component of helping young people prepare for life after high school. Through our partnership with Smart Futures, a Pittsburgh non-profit organization, we provide opportunities for career development conversations and a set of structured activities through secure email between students and an online mentor, working for a Pennsylvania-based company. The training of mentors is supported by the Southwest PA Mentoring Partnership a national non-profit organization with a Pittsburgh location.

We are eager to enlist the help of employers to get involved in career education in the region. As individual employees help those preparing to enter the workforce, they will also enable the region to move forward. And, if that's not enough, they also gain valuable visibility for their organization among the next workforce or those just about ready to enter it.

Enclosed is a Menu of Engagement for Employers. As you will note, employer opportunities include hosting a small group of student job shadows at work, becoming an eMentor, or hosting an educator in the workplace. We are eager to "recruit" employer eMentors and support employers by serving as a liaison between schools and companies, providing eMentoring training to interested employers and employees, and by giving access to other supplemental resources.