OneFuture Coachella Valley (OFCV) Business Engagement Programs use the power of workplace relevance and established business relationships to excite students about what they are learning, as well as to prepare them for careers, post-secondary studies and life. Our mission is to advance an educated workforce for a thriving local economy.

Guest Speaker

Share your experiences and knowledge with students about career opportunities, employee expectations, and provide examples of the kinds of skills and talents needed in industry.

Career Exploration / Company Tours (Large group)

Introduce students to your company and the people/careers at your site by hosting a tour of your site. Tours are typically between two and five hours. 

Professional Interview Days / Career Fairs

Talk with a class about your profession or meet with high school freshman and sophomore students in small groups to answer questions about how you prepared for your career and what you do at work. 

Share Business Expertise / Industry Event

Communicate with students and teachers about your business and specific area of expertise. Events can include panels, presentations, meetings, conferences, labor market forums, and seminars. 

Job shadows

Students and Instructors have the opportunity to shadow industry professionals at a place of business to gain first-hand experience of the skills and abilities required on the job. A job shadow is a one-on-one or a small group of students or instructor assigned to one employer between 5-25 hours.

Mentor a Student

Career-related mentoring creates a relationship between a student and an adult, generally over the course of seveal months, where the mentor offers insight into his or her career, the necessary academic and skill/knowledge preparation, guidance, motivation, and provides assistance to the student exploring the career.

Provide a Project / Provide Feedback

Suggest a real-world industry-project for students to complete in the classroom that requires a presentation, the development of a product, and/or some interaction with a team of students as they work on solutions. Industry experts to help review, provide perspective, and offer feedback on projects or a presentation and help assess students’ attainment of industry-related skills.

Internships: Paid or Unpaid

You will provide students work experience by offering a paid or unpaid training experience to high school seniors and/or college students throughout the year.

Join an Industry Council

Connect with community leaders, educators and business partners to provide input about what should be taught in classes, what equipment should be used and current job/skills demands.

Host Faculty Externships

You will host a teacher for up to one week to allow a first-hand understanding about how you company works. The teacher will then take that experience back to the classroom to share with the students.

Provide Financial Support / Create a Scholarship

Your company/organization will participate in OFCV's scholarship program as a matching partner to help Coachella Valley students get to and through college.

 

For more information, please contact one of the following: 

Kim McNulty Kim@onefuturecv.org 

Ernie Rios  ernie@onefuturecv.org (Scholarships)

 

 

Business Engagement Alignment Team: Purpose and Role

  • Business Champions for Regional Plan
  • Supporting Regional Business/Education Advisories & Events
  • Support K-12 Career Pathways/Linked Learning Work Based Learning Goals: Internships, job shadows, career explorations
  • Inform Labor Market Data
  • Support College Success Strategies: Scholarships, FAFSA-California Aid Campaign, Paid Internships Programs

 

Career Academies and Pathways

Career academies and CTE (Career Technical Education) pathways are a core component of the Regional Plan for College and Career Success’ strategy to assure the Coachella Valley has a well-prepared and workforce-ready talent pipeline to help our students and economy thrive into the future.  Data shows that Career Academy and Pathway students graduate high school and enroll in post-secondary at a higher rate than their peers.  

Combined, all three K-12 school districts host 30 career academies, 18 pathway programs, 11 AVID & 6 ROTC Programs, which served 7,758 high school students in 2019. Click here to learn more!

Business Engagement FAQs

What is OneFuture Coachella Valley (OFCV)?

What's in it for me?

What is the Regional Plan for College and Career Success?

What are some goals of the Regional Plan for College and Career Success?

What is Linked Learning?

What is an Industry Council?

What is Career Technical Education?

What is a Career Academy?

What is Work-Based Learning (WBL)?

How does OFCV's Scholarship and Matching Partner program work?

What are the FAFSA and Cal-Grant?  Why is it important for students to complete these applications?

 

What is OneFuture Coacehlla Valley (OFCV)?

As an Alignment USA and a Ford Next Generation Learning (Ford NGL) community, OneFuture Coachella Valley exists to build bridges – to connect ideas and resources and to build relationships across the region among all who work to improve outcomes for local students and strengthen the regional economy.

What's in it for me?

Benefits of supporting the Regional Plan for College and Career Success and the Linked Learning approach:

  • Offers employers the chance to work directly with local students and to help train the next generation of our region's workforce.
  • Increased recruiting opportunities for future entry-level workers, lower training costs, greater morale among current employees, and positive publicity.
  • Provides an opportunity to give back to the community, affect positive change in education, and make a difference in the lives of local students.

What is the Regional Plan for College and Career Success?

The Regional Plan is a 5-year framework outlining how business and education will collaborate on regional college and career readiness strategies, assume responsibility for key objectives and implement a sustainable partnership to assure that all students are prepared for success in college, career and life. Regional Plan 2.0 is currently being written with the assistance of all key stakeholders.

What are some goals of the Regional Plan for College and Career Success?

  • Increase high school graduation, college readiness and college-going rates
  • Increase number of students in career pathways/academies
  • Increase business support of students in career pathways and provide work-based learning
  • Use Industry Councils to provide input on career pathways programs
  • Support faculty professional development aligned with workforce needs
  • Increase student's access to available financial aid
  • Establish an endowed scholarship fund generating $1 million annually for local scholarships  

What is Linked Learning?

Linked Learning is a state-wide initiative that integrates rigorous academics with work-based learning and real-world workplace experience. Students can choose among industry-themed pathways in fields such as engineering, arts and media, and environmental and medical health. Linked Learning:

  • Offers students a personally relevant, wholly engaging, rigorous academic and career-based curriculum with real-world learning opportunities.
  • Ensures students graduate from high school well-prepared to enter a two- or four-year college or university, an apprenticeship and/or formal job training.
  • Exposes students in school to previously unimagined college and career opportunities.

What is an Industry Council?

An Industry Council is a collaborative of business, education, community and student partners who meet as needed through the Business Engagement A-Team to review labor market information, assess workforce needs and give input on career pathways programs and implement strategies to prepare local students for the future workforce. OFCV currently faciliates an Arts, Media and Entertainment Industry Council (AME).  

What is Career Technical Education?

A program of study that involves a multi-year sequence of courses that integrates core academic knowledge with technical and occupational knowledge to provide students with a pathway to postsecondary education and careers. CTE is offered at the high school and college levels and addresses the needs of business by helping to address gaps in skills.

What is a Career Academy?

A career academy is a specialized three- to four-year program that is available to high school students. An academy student takes specialized courses in conjunction with his or her regular required academic classes. Examples of academies include health care, digital arts, culinary, and renewable energy.  

What is Work-Based Learning (WBL)?

Work Based Learning activities include internships, job shadows, mentorships, career exploration, workshops, and more. By participating in these activities, students acquire skills and knowledge that prepare them for a career.

How does OFCV's Scholarship and Matching Partner program work?

OFCV's scholarship program serves as a mechanism to link the various scholarship-giving organizations and student support systems in the Coachella Valley for the benefit of scholarship recipients. Through its Matching Scholarship program, OFCV provides matching scholarship funds to local non-profits in an effort to increase college access and completion for low-income students by aligning and leveraging local resources for greater collective impact.  Since 2009, OFCV and its partners have awarded over $11.5 million in scholarships to more than 1,700 Coachella Valley students pursuing a higher education. 

Each year, the OFCV program matches scholarship awards one-to-one up to the set award amounts for students attending community college ($2,500 per year) or a four-year university ($5,000 per year).  These Matching Partners agree to provide a 20% cash and/or in-kind contribution (calculated from the total Partner matching funds requested) toward the operational support of the program to assist in the management of the scholarship program and delivery of student services for scholarship recipients.

What are the FAFSA and Cal-Grant?  Why is it important for students to complete these applications?

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the most important application for students to complete to be considered for free federal funding for college, including scholarships from colleges/universities, and low-interest government loans.  The Cal-Grant is an entitlement grant awarded by the state of California that provides free funding for eligible college students attending California colleges and universities.  Each year, millions of dollars go unused, because students do not complete the applications.  These funds, coupled with local scholarship funding, can make the difference in meeting financial needs for college.  The millions in financial aid also create an economic impact on the region, with funding being used to purchase college-related supplies and life necessities.