Every day, families drive past companies in Wayne County … but often, they have no idea what’s going on behind closed doors. Students are searching for what they should do after high school, but do not have the tools they need to make an informed decision. Graduates with 4+ year degrees are struggling to find work in the field they studied. Parents are eager to help their kids launch a rewarding career, but are unaware of modern and local opportunities. BOCES, training programs and apprenticeships are sometimes struggling to recruit, despite the high demand for work-ready students. All the while, companies are eager to grow and fill positions left by the retiring workforce.
In Wayne County a partnership has formed between the Wayne County Economic Development office and Edge Factor to tackle workforce development challenges, inspire students, reach parents and job-seekers, and build relationships between local companies, schools, and families. This partnership will help unite our community leaders, companies, schools, and families to showcase local training and career pathways and celebrate the amazing opportunities our community offers.
“This past summer Edge Factor filmed 20 career videos highlighting careers right here in Wayne County including jobs in healthcare, value added agriculture, food processing, and Optics.” said Brian Pincelli, the County Director of Economic Development and Planning. “Edge Factor provides us an opportunity to shed some light on careers and hear directly from professionals in these industries. I’m excited to roll this out and continue to build a library of career opportunities in the County.
Edge Factor uses the power of cinematic storytelling to showcase real-life stories of people using their heads, hands, and technology to push back the edge of what’s possible, make STEAM relevant to the real world, instill soft skills, and ultimately, take people on a journey to discover how they can launch exciting career and training pathways, right in their own community. All of these tools are available on their smart streaming service, www.edgefactor.com/WayneNY and everyone in Wayne County has FREE access to all of the films, TV episodes, and career exploration tools!
“We partner with communities across North America to tackle workforce development. While every community is unique, many of the challenges they face are the same,” said Larissa Hofman, Vice President of Edge Factor. “Our goal is to help take students and job seekers on a journey from, “I have no idea what I want to do with my life!” to successfully attending a local training program and launching a successful career pathway in a local company.”
Wayne County staff continue to work with local employers to add to the platform. Interested businesses can reach out to Tanya Hasseler at thasseler@co.wayne.ny.us for more information.
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