Twenty teachers have just completed their externships at five large employers in the Golden Isles and are they ready to share what they’ve learned during a ceremony Jan. 3.
The program, in its second year, is sponsored by the Golden Isles Chamber of Commerce.
The four employers who participated in the externship’s inaugural year were Southeast Georgia Health System, Sea Island, King and Prince Seafood and Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. A fifth employer, Okefenokee REMC, is the newest business to participate in the program.
Ralph Staffins III, the chamber’s president and CEO, said every school from the elementary level through high school had at least one teacher participate in the program.
There were 50 teachers who applied to participate in the program. Staffins said a committee, which included school officials, selected the participants.
Staffins said he is most interested to hear what the teachers who went to the Okefenokee REMC learned, since the company is a first-time participant.
The intent is for teachers to spend several days shadowing different employees at the selected business to learn what skills and classes are needed to get a job there.
“We want to make sure they understand what’s available,” he said.
A student who has no plans for technical school or college can still learn skills to enter the workplace after graduation, Staffins said.
“We want teachers to see the college jobs and the non-college jobs,” Staffins said. “We want teachers to know what’s available there.”
The presentation is from 9 to 11 a.m. Jan. 3 at Brunswick High School.