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Skill Powered: Roadtrip Nation from KQED
Follow along as three young people explore what’s happening in the exciting world of skilled trades and learn about promising jobs where a four-year degree isn’t necessary.
In the culinary arts and sound engineering, woodworking and welding, people are finding purpose and fulfillment. Come along for the ride.
Watch Skill Powered On-Demand
These four postsecondary transition films show effective transition practices enabling students with disabilities to gain job skills. Each film also has a discussion guide to aid in classroom discourse. Films include: Dream Outloud; Garrett shows: I’m in Charge; Jamia and Peyton: I Can Work; Untapped
JOURNEY TO JOBS is hosted by PBS Newshour’s Hari Sreenivasan During the show, Hari takes viewers across the country, highlighting individuals and organizations who are connecting job seekers to employment at each stop.
The program tells the story of how communities are providing support, advice, and intervention services to youth, veterans, and adults in career transition. In JOURNEY TO JOBS, viewers hear directly from job seekers and the newly employed, business and nonprofit leaders, as well as program staff, volunteers and mentors as they work to create pathways to high-demand skilled careers.
JOURNEY TO JOBS is a one-hour special, presented as part of the American Graduate: Getting to Work initiative, public media’s commitment to help communities illuminate pathways to gainful employment in America.
A four-part documentary film series that tells the story of a small group of incarcerated men and women struggling to earn college degrees.
Alfred I. duPont-Columbia and Peabody-Award winning filmmaker Lynn Novick has directed and produced a new documentary series, College Behind Bars, that reveals the transformative power of higher education through the experiences of incarcerated men and women.
This 4-part series is available in its entirety as well as in short issue videos with lessons and discussions for social studies and civics classes via PBS Learningmedia.
Rochester EXPLORING is a program for high school students to check out careers they are interested in. Through a variety of available career programs, groups of students learn more about a particular field through hands-on activities led by people out in the real world.
Did you ever wonder what it’s really like to be a veterinarian or vet tech? Or a firefighter or EMT? What it’s like to be an attorney and try a case in front of actual judges? Do you like to work in cars and wonder if auto mechanics is the career for you? So, you think you want to be an engineer – do you know that there are many different kinds of engineers out there?
EXPLORING CAREER FIELDS INCLUDE:
Arts & Humanities
Aviation
Business
Communications
Engineering & Technology
Fire & EMS
Health Care
Law & Government
Law Enforcement
Science
Skilled Trades
Social Services
Why wait until after high school to find out what it’s like in a career field? Learn about the Rochester Explorers Program
Apprenticeship programs offer a wide range of opportunities to learn a specific skill and use it toward a new career, such as skilled trades or advanced manufacturing positions. A successful apprentice will often be offered a position if they are successful in the field they are training in.
Youth apprenticeship programs allow students to connect with apprenticeship opportunities while still in high school beginning at age 16. New York State Apprenticeship require that you finish high school or attain a high school equivalency such as passing the TASC exam. Youth Apprenticeship and CTE programs can give you are head start to getting professional certifications for New York State Apprenticeship.
Finger Lakes Youth Apprenticeship Program provides opportunities to receive training in skilled trades and advance manufacturing. Learn more about the specific positions and companies participating. Students can be enrolled in CTE programs such as BOCES but it is not required to apply. Learn More:
The NY State Department of Labor Apprenticeship Programs provides the process of learning a skilled occupation through:
To become an apprentice, you must be:
The length of training varies from one to six years, depending on the occupation.
There is a written contract between the apprentice and the employer that acknowledges their shared commitment to the training process. This agreement is approved and registered by the New York State Department of Labor. Learn More at New York State Apprenticeship Overview:
PBS NewsHour presents an indepth look at how the lack of affordable, quality child care is affecting American families. The COVID-19 pandemic transformed life for millions of parents and pushed the nation’s childcare system to the brink of collapse. A heated debate has emerged over what can be done to better meet the needs of parents and children. In this hourlong documentary, PBS NewsHour explores the burden costly childcare places on families, travels to cities and states experimenting with new ways of providing childcare, and delves into the political battle brewing over the idea of federally funded, universal childcare.
Local Childcare Challenges:
Listen to childcare challenges in our region from these two WXXI News Connections shows
During the past 10 years, WXXI has collaborated with regional partners to advance education and career readiness in the region by building awareness of career pathways to attain “good jobs.” WXXI has produced over 40 local content videos focused in-demand career sectors that require training beyond high school but less than a four-year degree to get started in the field. Many of these careers have alternative pathways including getting professional certificates in a job skill, apprenticeship, career and technical education while still in high school, community college and on-the-job training or additional training at local university paid for by the employer.
WXXI’s American Graduate work emphasizes:
• Thousands of in-demand jobs that go unfilled in our region
• Accessing careers through training, apprenticeship, professional certificates,
associates programs, and on-the-job training
• Sharing inspiring stories of how people found their career pathway
in our region and how individuals can get started pursuing a career and continue to learn
• Connecting to resources to research new career options
• Local hands-on career events, industry tours, career days and job fairs
• Connecting with career counselors at educational sites and one-stop job centers and workforce resources to make connections for students
• WXXI connects schools, libraries, out of school programs, parents, youth and young adults with career exploration resources in the region that are free to all such as:
Learn More from Our Local Panel with panelists from workforce and education to react to related issues facing our 9-county Greater Rochester and Finger Lakes Region and reactions to the national event content, moderated by Marion French, WXXI’s Vice President, Education & Interactive Services. (From June 8, 2021)
Panelists in the local discussion:
2021 Regional Event Partners included: