For students thinking about their futures, understanding what’s possible often starts with exposure. Meeting professionals, stepping into new environments and experiencing careers first-hand can introduce students to opportunities they may not have known existed.
At the Smilow Woodland TGR Learning Lab, Industry Days connect students with companies and professionals across a variety of career-connected experiences designed to expand their understanding of what’s possible after high school.
Industry Days incorporate opportunities such as career panels, interactive breakout sessions, workplace or behind-the-scenes experiences and networking opportunities that allow students to learn directly from professionals.
Here are five reasons to partner with the Learning Lab for an Industry Day:
1: Provide students direct access to real-world careers
Students often know the careers they see most frequently, but every industry includes roles and pathways they may have never considered.
Industry Days give students direct access to professionals who can introduce them to the range of opportunities within their fields. During previous experiences, students explored careers spanning marketing, human resources, wealth management, merchandising, engineering, media and more.
By hearing directly from the people doing the work and seeing how different roles contribute to an organization, students can develop a broader understanding of where their interests and skills could take them.
2: Access to hands-on, interactive learning
Career exploration becomes even more meaningful when students have opportunities to experience aspects of the work firsthand.
Interactive workshops, demonstrations and challenges allow professionals to translate their skills into experiences students can see and apply. These experiences help students make connections between what they are learning today and how those skills can translate into future careers.
3: Connect students with meaningful professionals
Career panels, networking opportunities and small group conversations give students space to ask professionals about their experiences, education, challenges and the decisions that shape their careers. These interactions can also introduce students to professionals whose paths may look different from what they expected.
As Matt Hiner of PGA of America shared during a memorable experience for students at the PGA Career Exploration Day, opportunities like these can help young people understand “what are the opportunities available” within an industry and gain exposure to careers they may not otherwise know about.
4: Expand career clarity and inspiration
Exposure can change the way a student thinks about an entire industry. Behind the careers students already recognize, there are teams of people working in technology, operations, finance, design and countless other areas. Industry Days help students discover those possibilities while experiencing the many ways their interests can translate into careers.
Whether an Industry Day reinforces an existing interest or introduces students to something completely knew, it encourages them to think bigger about where their future could take them.
5: Strengthen school-to-career readiness
Preparing students for the future requires more than knowledge of existing careers. Students also need opportunities to interact with professional, experience workplace environments and ask questions to understand how their interests connect to postsecondary pathways.
Through career exposure, hands-on learning and professional connections, students gain information and experiences that help them make informed decisions about college and careers after high school.
An Industry Day at the TGR Learning Lab can be shaped around what your organization does best, whether that means bringing professionals into the Lab, welcoming students into your workplace or creating interactive experiences that introduce them to your field. Together, we can create opportunities for students to discover what’s possible and begin their plan and path forward.
Contact Stef Bingham at [email protected] to partner with the TGR Learning Lab and empower students through an industry day.
