Home grown talent - Southern Illinois' school-to-work programs

HR Magazine, May, 1997 by Bill Leonard

Imagine that your company is in an area facing a severe labor shortage. Two major cities within a few hundred miles lure away the most talented high school and college graduates. And the work ethic and skill level of most young people entering the workforce in your region just don't measure up to your company's standards.

That's the situation employers in Southern Illinois found themselves in a few years back. Those employers could easily be considered a microcosm of what's happening throughout the United States. But today, several hundred of them have teamed with 50 school districts, 23 high schools, two community colleges, and one state university to find a solution to their region's labor shortage.

Largely through the efforts of one woman, Southern Illinois educators, employers and local governments have formed a school-to-work pipeline that begins in elementary school and continues through secondary and post-secondary education. The Mid-South Partnership Coalition follows students from school directly into the jobs available in Southern Illinois.

"I think we're way ahead of the curve on getting businesses and schools to work together," says Clarence W. Ashcraft, a business owner from Mount Vernon, Ill., who helped organize the coalition. Ashcraft credits Betty Musgrave, tech-prep director and school-to-work coordinator with the Franklin-Williamson Regional Office of the Illinois State Board of Education, with doing most of the work organizing the coalition.

"There is no one more interested and involved in this project than Betty," says Ashcraft. "Through the force of her personality and almost unbelievable dedication, she has pulled together the businesses and schools in our seven-county area.

Connecting education and business

Musgrave has worked as an educator her whole career, beginning as a teacher, then moving into developing and administering vocational programs for high schools in Southern Illinois. In 1990, she developed the first tech-prep program for automotive service technicians.

"By law, the tech-prep programs had to be based on labor market need," Musgrave explains. "There was a severe shortage of qualified automotive technicians in our area, so we addressed the need."

Since then, Musgrave has developed 11 tech-prep courses of study that integrate a college preparatory curriculum with rigorous technical training. The sequence of courses begins in the ninth grade, and students work toward either a two-year associate degree or a four-year baccalaureate.

The tech-prep courses addressed certain specific labor requirements, but Musgrave also saw a need for improved communication between businesses and educators in Southern Illinois and took it upon herself to build the communication links.

"There was a real gap between what's being taught in the schools and what skills are truly needed in the workforce," Musgrave says. She believes the gap was a result of the fact that many teachers had never been outside the academic environment or experienced industrial work. At the same time, she says, "employers have no idea how the education system really works."

Musgrave began exploring ways to bring educators and business leaders together. Although she had no human resource management experience, Musgrave became a member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and its affiliated chapter, the Southern Illinois Employee Relations Association (SIERA). She even served as the chapter's president.

"It made a lot of sense for me to be involved with the chapter," Musgrave says. "HR people know what work skills employees need, and understand what skills job applicants lack. I made a lot of valuable contacts by getting involved with the SIERA."

Getting the right input

Her work in the chapter led Musgrave to seek input from area employers on the tech-prep and school-to-work programs. She led seminars as well as training and planning sessions throughout the seven-county area to develop the tech-prep course curriculum. The Illinois State Board of Education named the project Education-to-careers, to more closely reflect the program's goals.

"During these sessions, we brought in CEOs, HR professionals, and people who actually perform the jobs, for input into what the schools should be teaching," Musgrave explains. "The interaction between the business leaders and educators during these sessions exceeded our expectations."

Getting business leaders to participate in the program was easier than Musgrave expected; they were surprisingly eager to help and some seemed almost flattered that she solicited their input. "Ten to 15 years ago, this wouldn't have been the case," Musgrave says. "The atmosphere was completely different then, and employers had a much different attitude about the roles of business and education. I think the timing was just right for me to put this program together."

The program also gives teachers a chance to visit or work with local employers and witness first-hand the work environment in a given line of business. "Teachers have returned to their classrooms with a lot of enthusiasm after working with area employers for several weeks during the summer." Musgrave believes the opportunity gives teachers a much clearer vision of how their work in the classroom will help students after graduation.