MISSOULA – MCPS and the Missoula Chamber of Commerce came together on Monday to take a different approach to advising students on career opportunities after high school.
The Missoula Children’s Theater played host to a group of Missoula County Public School counselors looking to gain a little more insight about what career paths are available to their students who don’t choose the four-year college route.
“Students tend to worry so much about graduating that they often forget about what comes next,” MCPS CTE coordinator Kasey Dirnberger said. “Then they graduate and they’re standing on this cliff.”
“They don’t know where to go from there and we are trying to provide those bridges to give these students the opportunity so that they are not so nervous and scared when they graduate,” Dirnberger added.
“There are lots of avenues out there and that we are all here for them to help them make those choices along the way,” she concluded.
It’s not just a great opportunity for students, it’s also a great chance for businesses to prepare a new workforce at a young age, showing students new career paths and opportunities they didn’t even know existed
“Every one of them are over the moon for the opportunity. Every one of them are hitting every school from grade schools up to high schools, some two-year colleges. They are getting their message out in a three to four-hour meeting versus trying to set up appointments,” said Missoula Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Kim Latrielle.
“They are very excited about this opportunity. I feel like we hit a home run, I’m listening up there today and I am impressed about how much stuff is offered here for those kids and what opportunities are out there.,” she added.
Folks who have a business and are looking to get in on the action can still to join in.
“Businesses can still get in on this if they’d like to. They just need to contact the chamber, fill out an intake form, which kind of breaks down what they are willing to do, what they are willing to offer,” Latrielle said.
“Then we will get them in the database and that will be shared with all the school counselors and we will continue to monitor that, add to that make changes as we need,” she concluded.
Reporting by Connor McCauley for MTN News
