Work-Based Learning
Work-based learning (WBL) is an educational strategy that provides students with real-life work experiences where they can apply academic and technical skills and develop their employability.
Work-based learning, sometimes referred to as career-connected learning, engages students on a deeper level by providing relevant real-world life and career skills, and often includes employer and community engagement. Connections with local community members and industry professionals help to create a skilled local workforce to help fill the skills-employment gap identified by local high-growth industries.
CTE Foundation partners with the Sonoma County Office of Education (SCOE), always with an eye to establishing new and innovative models that bring more relevance into today’s classrooms through work-based learning. These models include student internship programs, teacher externship programs, educator professional development and a countywide network of educators and employer partners. CTE Foundation serves as an intermediary to facilitate connections and help build strong relationships between education and industry.
Get Engaged / Build Your Workforce: WBL Resources For Employers
By partnering with CTE Foundation and local schools, employers can have a direct impact on the educational experience of its future workforce and generate excitement for their industry. Employer engagement in local schools helps educators stay current with industry needs and ensures that the skills and training students receive in the classroom are relevant to what they need to succeed in the real world.
To get involved in local schools and workforce programs, contact Brandon Jewell, the Director of Student Experience via email or at 707-849-7741.
There's only so much you can learn in the classroom. When you have the opportunity to be on a production floor, or get behind the wheel of a truck, or be in a mechanic's shop or on a production line, you're going to learn a lot more. And the employer plays a critical role in fulfilling this cycle.
