I am with a Chamber of Commerce

Help Your Members Meet Their Workforce Needs

Through the support of the State of Arkansas, local chambers across the state have the opportunity to engage with this exciting Career Blade Arkansas initiative—bridging the gap between education and industry.

By taking part, Chambers can improve their value to current and prospective members by increasing viability of businesses in their community and visibility to the needs of the future labor market. As a benefit of participation, Chamber members and other strategic partners will inform Career Blade Arkansas resources that support regional and statewide workforce development at the K-12 grade levels and promote one-on-one connections with their future workforce – today's students.

Career Blade Arkansas offers K-12 educators a free career-in-classroom solution where localized lessons and employer information will be searchable and easily accessible. The classroom-ready academic lessons highlight local, high-demand careers and provide ready-to-use resources for teachers to inspire students to become motivated to pursue career paths available in their communities.

At the heart of Career Blade Arkansas, local Chambers and businesses across the state are stepping up to identify workforce needs, provide information on desired careers, and offer time, talents, and resources to bring careers into classrooms. Here's how the process works:

1. First … Chambers and other partners recruit businesses to feature in the Career Blade Arkansas portal and are work to gain support of regional education leadership.
2. Second … businesses complete surveys, provide information about future career needs, and indicate the ways in which they intend to engage with schools and classrooms. Information from participating businesses is then linked to appropriate classroom lessons.
3. Third … teachers will be provided free access to the online, customized resources and are able to introduce students to local careers through pre-written lesson plans. Teachers are encouraged to utilize business' contact information, at their fingertips, to bridge to nearby companies interested in connecting kids to local careers.
4. Last … students are able to connect, either in person or virtually, with local employers to see careers in action and to realize “what they can be when they grow up!”

The goal is to provide local Chambers, employers and schools the ability to excite students about careers available in their own communities.

If you represent a Chamber of Commerce that wants to be a part of this, please email info@learningblade.com with your contact information.

If you know of a business that should be included in Career Blade Arkansas, please encourage a representative from the business to complete this Business Survey.