June 9, 2021
Join us on the Road to 60% – by year 2025, our community seeks to reach 60 percent of individuals in Spokane County who hold high- quality degrees or certificates. For the benefit of our region’s employers; for the benefit of our region’s students; for the benefit of our region’s economic growth. We all play an important role on the Road to 60% and we invite you to join us in this work.
Career Connect Washington Win
Greater Spokane Inc. (GSI), led by the Spokane STEM Network, has been selected for the second time by Career Connect Washington (CCW) as one of only nine recipients to receive a grant to continue our work enhancing workforce development across the region.

“We are thrilled to continue serving as NEWESD 101’s CCW Regional Network for the next biennium! Building an integrated network of opportunities for young people to learn about careers, explore their talents and be supported on a pathway toward economic self-sufficiency is key for our region’s recovery and growth. We look forward to connecting more employer, education, labor and community partnerships throughout eastern Washington to drive this work forward,” said Cassidy Peterson, Executive Director for Spokane STEM.

In the past two years of funding as the ESD 101's CCW Regional Network, GSI/Spokane STEM has convened regional leadership teams, represented CCW on a number of local boards and committees, supported multiple CCW Program Intermediary funding applications and Career Launch endorsements and continued offering career connected learning programing for teachers and students.

With this support and working with the other eight CCW Regional Networks across the state GSI/Spokane STEM will continue to convene and support our current CCW Program Intermediaries and look for more opportunities for projects in our region to receive funding. We also look towards increasing the number of Career Launch endorsements (as well as sectors represented) and participation of young people in Career Launch, Career Preparation and Career Exploration activities across our region. This work benefits both students in the eastern Washington region who face greater barriers to opportunity as well as the business community looking to recruit a new generation of workers.

Thank you to our 2020-21 Business AfterSchool & Teaching the Teachers hosts!
 
GSI's Education and Talent team would like to acknowledge and thank all the businesses that made our Business AfterSchool and Teaching the Teachers workshops possible in the 2020-21 school year. Although we had to host all workshops in a virtual format versus in-person, we still saw strong engagement and interest from both employers and attendees. Thank you to Wagstaff, Inc., Community-Minded Television and the UW School of Medicine for being willing to make the transition and continue our outreach to students in our virtual Business AfterSchool workshops. Thank you also to N2X, WSU Spokane Health Sciences, Project Lead the Way, Jubilant HollisterStier, Vitalant and Incyte Diagnostics for taking their knowledge and insight to the screen for our teachers who attended the virtual Teaching the Teachers programming!

These programs connect both teachers and students to local career pathways highlighted by business professionals. They would not be possible without the support of our wonderful local business community. Thank you for making an impact! If you are interested in hosting either an in-person or virtual workshop for the 2021-22 school year, please contact Maria Vigil by July 15.
Partner Highlights
GIZMO-CDA invites children to attend their 2021 Summer Camps. Camps will offer kids opportunities to spend time in the shops, building projects for themselves and building project in the community. Scholarships are available.
Mark your calendars for this year's Valleyfest on September 25th and 26th at CenterPlace Regional Event Center. Interactive STEM activities for children and teens will be showcased, including the new Project ELLO Design Challenges.

On June 24 at 10:30 AM, the Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce is hosting a Confident Compliance: Hiring Interns 101 webinar. With the goal of increasing employers' knowledge of the internship rules and regulations, this webinar will provide an in-depth overview of the state and federal guidelines businesses must adhere to when hiring paid or unpaid interns or volunteers. Individuals from any location in Washington are invited to attend.
Report Gives Glimpse into Career Readiness Metrics in the Eastern Washington Region
There’s truth in the saying, “what gets measured, gets done.” Without clear data, it is almost impossible to identify impact and to understand where gaps continue to exist, preventing access to equitable opportunities in our community. We know that by 2030, 70% of Washington state’s jobs will require some form of postsecondary credential and 67% of those will require STEM skills. We want to be sure these pathways are accessible by students in our region so your business can thrive.

To champion this important work at a local level, GSI houses the Spokane STEM Network which works in partnership with Washington STEM (WA STEM) and ten other STEM Networks to champion equitable access to STEM for students of all ages across Washington. Every year, WA STEM publishes regional STEM by the Numbers reports that present localized data indicating how each region is on track to attain high-demand credentials – all forms of postsecondary education and training such as registered apprenticeships, 1-year certificates, 2- and 4-year degrees – to reach 70%.

But why does this matter to your business? Without connecting the entire system of learning that an individual experiences before becoming a hirable candidate, potential talent is lost in unintentionally formed gaps and inequities. Right now, only 40% of the 2019 high school cohort is projected to be on track to attain postsecondary credentials and it will take a village to increase projections for following classes. With this data at hand, we challenge each of us to think through investments, priorities and advancement in a data-driven way to support progress for all students across the Eastern Region.
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About the Greater Talent Newsletter
The Greater Talent newsletter delivers the latest news, programs and opportunities that help develop and retain a thriving talent base in the Spokane region. We also invite you to subscribe to our quarterly STEM, Greater Minds, and GSI Connect newsletters. To learn more about how GSI creates a vibrant Spokane region, visit our website at GreaterSpokane.org.

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