Governor Beebe’s column: College and Career Planning Now
November 14th, 2009 by Governor Mike BeebeI know from my own life’s experience that the opportunity for success begins with a good education. In this day and age, it is essential to have a postsecondary degree and training if you want to find a fulfilling and long-lasting career. Last year, we established the Arkansas Works Initiative, a call to communities across Arkansas to band together and coordinate efforts to make their hometowns more appealing to new businesses. We’re now taking the next step as a State, making sure that people can get the education and training they need to build a stronger Arkansas workforce.
It’s called the College and Career Planning System. By visiting your local Workforce Development Center, you can sign up for an online clearinghouse of information focused on Arkansans seeking jobs and employers seeking new hires. If you are unemployed or want a job that better provides for you and your family, you can learn what steps to take to lead you toward a career that best suits your talents and abilities.
The future of our economy hinges on Arkansas increasing the percentage of our residents who have earned bachelor’s degrees. We will accomplish this by not only increasing enrollment in college, but by improving the rate of completion. I want to see more Arkansans with college degrees in hand, who will then have the opportunities to apply their knowledge in their home state. We can change the culture and make college the given path of continued education after high school.
I’ll be the first to admit this is a task easier said than done. People need direction, and many children in Arkansas lack the support system necessary to guide them through the college- and financial-aid application process. To ensure that guidance and unlock that vision for students, we will place 43 career coaches in high schools in January. These passionate leaders, who will be employed by our two-year colleges, are tasked solely with offering detailed advice to students who want to build careers in Arkansas.
For the first three years of the pilot program, these coaches will work in the 21 counties of greatest need to direct our children on the path toward college and career success. We will see how the program works in these first years and figure out the best way to potentially expand it to the rest of the State.
I believe that the combined initiative to better train those already in the workforce, and to guide students who are the very future of our workforce, will produce a domino effect. As people benefit from these new programs, others will follow their lead.
Each generation of Arkansans is changing careers more and more often. You no longer have to be content with the job you have now if you feel you are destined for a better life. By visiting your local Workforce Development Center, you can begin building a better and more rewarding career that will help make you and your State stronger.
