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Kirkwood’s Workplace Learning Connection tells supervisors participation and internships grew in Johnson County
Summary
Kirkwood Community College staff updated the Johnson County Board of Supervisors on the Workplace Learning Connection (WLC), reporting growth in internships, job shadows and student participation and describing program elements aimed at middle- and high-school career exposure.
Christine Bullock, director of the Workplace Learning Connection at Kirkwood Community College, told the Johnson County Board of Supervisors Wednesday that the program has expanded local student career-exposure opportunities, and that participation in Johnson County has risen in 2024.
"Our mission is to help those kids be better prepared for their future careers," Bullock said, describing WLC’s school liaisons, business liaisons and a sequence of activities that begin in sixth grade and progress through high school internships and concurrent-enrollment internships.
Bullock described the program’s middle-school STEAM institute, eighth-grade financial-literacy simulations, mock interviews and job shadows. She said WLC tracks work-based learning that now contributes to the state’s revised postsecondary-readiness indicator and that the internship program is eligible for concurrent-enrollment credit, which can count two ways on the state report card.
Bullock presented statistics showing year-over-year growth across the seven-county region: a 13% increase in event participation, a 27% increase in job shadows and a 22% increase in internships; she said Kirkwood recorded more than 4,065 internships and events at the time of the report and expects about 32,000 student participants regionwide this school year.
Bullock read quotations from local partners included in her slides. Steve Davis of Bioneos said in the presentation, "WLC makes it super easy to give back to our community by spending our time with students and trying to ignite a spark in them." Shannon Webb of CIVCO and Alyssa Amelon, Ag and FFA advisor at CCA, were also listed as partners in the slides Bullock presented.
Supervisors and staff discussed transportation as a barrier to participation; a county supervisor described Trip Connect, a pilot mobility program that provides $2 rides and suggested staff coordinate with Kelly Schneider, the county mobility coordinator, to expand student access to internships. Bullock said WLC had done a transportation study to identify nearby businesses and bus-route opportunities for students.
Bullock said the program’s multi-county, braided funding (state, schools, county boards, donations) keeps per-student charges low — she cited a per-student fee of $6 for schools — and emphasized WLC’s intent to deliver immediate, scalable school-based services. She asked the board to continue supporting the program’s capacity to connect students and employers.
