- by Bill Bengtson (bbengtson@aikenstandard.com) (Updated
NEW WEBSITE
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
As of June 15, 2022, AIKEN WORKS is Excited to Announce the Development of a "NEW and IMPROVED" AIKEN WORKS Website. We Appreciate Your Patience and Understanding, as We are Currently Working to Develop a More Useful and Informative Product. In the Meantime, if you have Questions Regarding AIKEN WORKS and/or the Aiken County Public School District Work Based Learning Programs, please Contact Our AIKEN WORKS Lead Larry Millstead (lmillstead@acpsd.net or 803-646-8985).
We Look Forward to Seeing You, at Our New Website, Soon!
Learning Opportunities
ENHANCING EDUCATION
AIKEN WORKS is an Aiken County collaborative to redefine individual success & provide opportunities to ensure highly-competent future employees.
SENIOR DECISION VIDEO SERIES (Episode #1)
"College Admissions"
AIKEN WORKS and the Aiken High School Counseling Office is co-sponsoring an informative, three-part video series for senior students and their parents entitled "Senior Decisions." Aiken Works' core belief is a simple but important one - there are "Multiple Pathways to Success". This new series of videos will provide students and parents with important information related to the decisions students will need to make regarding opportunities available to them immediately after high school. All videos will be delivered in a round table discussion format featuring content-area experts from the CSRA and beyond. The first video, which will premier Friday, December 18, 2020, at 6:00 p.m., sheds light on moving straight to the college classroom, and how to successfully navigate the college admissions process. The second video considers the option of military service and what students can expect from military life. Finally, the third video in the series will focus on a student's option to go straight into the workforce, and best practices on how to be successful on the job. We hope you will join us for the Aiken Works "Senior Decisions" Video Series, kicking off Friday, December 18, 2020, at 6:00 p.m. Aiken Works would like to extend a special THANK YOU to Aiken High School Broadcast Journalism Teacher Carina McGee and her students for filming and editing the video series.
SENIOR DECISION VIDEO SERIES (Episode #2)
"Military and COVID - A Conversation with Local Military Recruiters"
AIKEN WORKS and the Aiken High School Counseling Office is co-sponsoring an informative, three-part video series for senior students and their parents entitled "Senior Decisions." Aiken Works' core belief is a simple but important one - there are "Multiple Pathways to Success". This new series of videos will provide students and parents with important information related to the decisions students will need to make regarding opportunities available to them immediately after high school. All videos will be delivered in a round table discussion format featuring content-area experts from the CSRA and beyond. The second video, will premier Monday, March 22, 2021, at 6:00 p.m., brings a conversation with local military recruiters. Local recruiters will discuss benefits and options of military service, what students can expect from military life, along with answering many other "questions of concern" that someone considering joining the military may have. We hope you will join us for this informative conversation, March 22, 2021, at 6:00 p.m. Aiken Works would like to extend a special THANK YOU, again, to Aiken High School Broadcast Journalism Teacher Carina McGee and her students for filming and editing the video series, as well as to the Aiken High Counseling Office for this co-sponsored series.
SENIOR DECISION VIDEO SERIES (Episode #3)
"Going Straight to Work and Covid"
AIKEN WORKS and the Aiken High School Counseling Office is co-sponsoring an informative, three-part video series for senior students and their parents entitled "Senior Decisions." Aiken Works' core belief is a simple but important one - there are "Multiple Pathways to Success". This new series of videos will provide students and parents with important information related to the decisions students will need to make regarding opportunities available to them immediately after high school. All videos are delivered in a round table discussion format featuring content-area experts from the CSRA and beyond. The third and final video, premiers tonight Monday, May 17, 2021, at 6:00 p.m., which brings a conversation with local employers. Local employers will discuss some benefits and options of going "Straight to Work" following high school graduation. We hope you will join us for this informative conversation, May 17, 2021, at 6:00 p.m. Aiken Works would like to extend a special THANK YOU, again, to Aiken High School Broadcast Journalism Teacher Carina McGee and her students for filming and editing the video series, as well as to the Aiken High Counseling Office for this co-sponsored series.
HOW AIKEN WORKS
- AIKEN WORKS teams up with local businesses to prepare students for the workforce through authentic hands-on paid experiences. The initiative will allow Aiken County’s students to develop employable skill sets, while building a highly capable future workforce for our community.
- With 50% of Aiken County’s workers eligible to retire in the next five years, the need to train Aiken’s youth in highly-qualified and skilled trades and professions is essential to our community’s success.
- Join the movement that will propel Aiken County forward as a hub of cyber technology, industrial manufacturing, health and energy.
Aiken Works Holds Community Event at South Aiken
Aiken Works, described as a "community workforce development collaborative," had a two-hour, tailgate-stye gathering near the front of the school, in an ongoing effort "to bring some awareness to not only the Aiken Works program but ... to the host school," as described by Larry Milstead, the program's lead coordinator.
Are Parents Out of Touch with Careers in Manufacturing?
There’s plenty of concern about the retiring generation of industrial professionals and the potential shortage of skilled workers needed to fill new jobs created by revolutionary advances in automation and manufacturing technology. Industry leaders remain hyper-focused on the challenges of encouraging high school and college students to pursue industrial careers. But according to a new survey, businesses and organizations that are promoting great careers in industrial automation and manufacturing to young people probably should spend more time reaching out to their parents.