$14K Grant for Parkland Career Linking Program

A $14,000 grant from the Lehigh Valley Workforce Investment Board will be used to help fund this year's Parkland Career Linking Program, school administrators say.

This year's program runs from June 17-21 and is open to Parkland High School junior and senior classes, according to administrator John Pfeiffer.

"We have the speakers for the program lined up, but the best part of the program is the job shadowing," he told school board members during a Tuesday morning committee meeting.

Pfeiffer said that in the past students have shadowed electricians, carpenters, electricians seen hospital surgeries and watched babies being born.

Pfeiffer said participation in the past has been as high as 90 students and there is no cost for district students to participate.

The purpose of the weeklong program is to prepare students to make
meaningful career choices and to give them the skills they need to obtain a career.

The students will get firsthand knowledge from leaders in business and industry from around the Lehigh Valley. This program has been run for more than five  years with more then 350 students participating.

Other activities during the week include resume writing and job applications,
online and mock interviews, career cruising, college visitation to a local college

Careers and education in the military will also be discussed. The program will have daily speakers talking about their careers and the paths they took to get there as well as the job outlook for the Lehigh Valley.