Incianapolis Chamber Initiatives to Help Education in Central IndianaSpeaker - Stacie Porter
Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce
The Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce is more than 100 years old. Recently it has determined its top priority to be in the area of Education and Work Force Development.
The "Education Agenda" for the Chamber includes the following objectives:
1) High Education Standards
2) Progressive Models to foster business involvement in Education
3) Linking Employers and Universities
The Chamber actively advocates the following legislation:
4) Charter Schools (passed legislature Thurs 4/12/01)
5) Full-day kindergartens
6) Deregulation of Public Schools
In the area of Education/Business Partnerships models are being created within school systems which illustrate how to connect schools and businesses.
A significant program sponsored by the Chamber is called "InternNet". InternNet exists to bring post high school students into "Internships" with various employers for the benefit of both. It is a Web Site, with three major interfaces to match talent and educational needs of students, with needs and training opportunities available from employment. Students can use the "Student's interface" to build profiles/resumes and find internship opportunities. Employers can use the "Employer's interface" to look for talent to fill specific needs for the short term. Employers can have multiple accounts for differing environments and needs. Universities also have a "customized interface" which can be used to track opportunities for students to apply acquired skills.
The program experience. The best part is that this is all provided by the Chamber and the site sponsors FREE OF CHARGE to the users. For more detail a toll free 1 (866) 646 3434 phone number is available.
The term "Internship" is different from a "co-op" situation in several respects. While the "Internship" is very flexible in definition, it is generally for a shorter period than a "co-op". The average "internship" is about 3 months. In a "co-op" there is usually a strong "university-employer" tie, and universities have certain expectations for development of the student. The "Internship" is much more driven by the employer's needs and students acquired abilities. There is a fairly high rate of "hire-in" of interns from internships.
While not yet totally functional, the InternNet can be found at www.indianaintern.net.
The Chamber also has plans to develop a program for K-12 students. Direct access to K-12 classrooms for business professionals to reinforce the "relevance" of education in our schools to successful careers will be a major emphasis. It is hoped that it will become easier for "semi-retired" members of business and industry to become "certified teachers" as they have more practical experience to offer than perhaps many "professional educators" do.
Stacie Porter can be reached at sporter@indylink.com