BYC Sept ’19 “Contractors in the Classroom” Profile: Register Your Company for a Personalized Ambassador Orientation!
BYC Sept '19 "Contractors in the Classroom" Profile: Register Your Company for a Personalized Ambassador Orientation!
Now that summer is over and another school year is back in session, there’s no time like the present to begin participating in the BYC “Contractors in the Classroom” program! Last month’s Workforce Windup newsletter included a “Quick Start Guide” on how BYC Ambassadors can get started making their school and classroom visits as part of our construction education outreach programs in one or more of the almost 400 K-12 schools we have partnered with all across the Carolinas.
Beginning next month, Build Your Career is offering customized "Contractors in the Classroom" orientations to get your company employees serving as BYC Ambassadors prepared to most effectively educate local students in your area on why they should pursue careers in construction and why they should work for your companies—assisting you attract your next generation of workers!
Your BYC Director will travel to your business location to review all Ambassador resources with your team to educate them on how best to use the resources during their school visits, assist your company reps in customizing their presentations and even help you develop a fun age-appropriate project-based learning activity incorporating elements of your trade. Read on to learn why your company should register to receive a personalized Ambassador program kickoff orientation, tailored to your company’s needs and area of expertise, from the BYC Director!
Step One: Nominate a Few of Your Employees to Serve as BYC Ambassadors on Behalf of Your Company & Choose Your Schools
When deciding which employees to choose to serve as your company's BYC Ambassadors, target those with high-energy, charismatic personalities who you feel best represent your business and field of expertise in the industry. Consider different age groups, ethnicities, genders & job descriptions.
Designate a point of contact to serve as your company’s liaison for the BYC Director
Determine how often your employee Ambassadors can conduct school/class visits and BYC industry-related outreach efforts
Try to choose employees with a variety of roles/jobs and at various levels
Decide on the parameters of your desired outreach area and choose your schools
Ambassador registration form available below
*Click here to access Ambassador Registration Form
Step Two: Contact the BYC Director to Schedule Your Personalized Ambassador Orientation
Once you have determined who your company Ambassadors will be (as well as their availability) and you have chosen the school(s) you want your employees to engage with on behalf of your company, please contact Betsy Bailey via email BBailey@CarolinasAGC.org, to schedule your personalized onsite Contractors in the Classroom orientation!
Based on everyone’s availability, the BYC Director will travel to your desired location and conduct an onsite orientation for all your company representatives volunteering as BYC Ambassadors
It is highly recommended that all company employees serving as BYC Ambassadors participate in the orientation
For convenience, we request that all Ambassadors attend the same orientation location & time
(unless additional employees volunteer as BYC Ambassadors at a later date, then another orientation can be scheduled in the future)
Ambassador orientation generally takes 1-2 hours
(depending on how many attendees are present, level or customization of resources requested, and length/difficulty of project-based learning activity developed)
Step Three: Developing an Easy Plan of Action
Once you have completed the first two steps and scheduled your private, personalized Ambassador orientation session, the BYC Director will assist you in mapping out your plan of action by:
Contacting your chosen school to determine any necessary requirements that need to be fulfilled prior to the start of your visits
(i.e. background checks, waivers signed, review of presentation materials, etc.)
Coordinating your first round of visits with your chosen school
(this would only be for your intial visits & determining frequency/duration of visits will be based on the availability of your company Ambassadors & the needs of the schools–info you will provide to BYC during Step One)
Determining how much you want/need your presentations to be customized to best reflect your company & Ambassador’s areas of expertise
Step Four: Customizing Your Presentations
There are multiple resources now available to assist employers and BYC Ambassadors better streamline and tailor their classroom presentations to best represent their companies needs and to best reflect their particular area of expertise within the construction industry. During your onsite orientation, the BYC Director will assist your employees customize the Ambassador resources and their presentation materials by:
Tailoring all PowerPoint presentations to reflect your company and your area of expertise in the industry
Adding in career pathway info specific to your company/trade
Designing slides and/or materials to advertise available job openings, internships or apprenticeships within your company
Incorporating more quiz questions or interactive components related to your specific field
Assisting with the preparation and development of an initial project-based learning (PBL) activity to implement into your presentation
(PBL’s should be reflective of your area of expertise, age-appropriate, time-sensitive if necessary, safe, etc.)
Step Five: Conducting a Practice Presentation & Establishing Follow Up
After your Ambassador orientation session is complete & your presentations have been customized, the BYC Director will conduct a practice “run through” with your company’s Ambassadors to make them feel 100% comfortable while engaging with your chosen schools. This includes:
Instruction on submission of forms (Pre-visit Activity, Teacher Feedback, Volunteer Time Tracking & Ambassador Feedback forms)
Instruction on sending any pics/videos to the BYC Director to publish on the BYC website & in our newsletter
Assisting your company Ambassadors with establishing ongoing, consistent class/school visits
Assistance with designing a PBL
(please refer to “Quick Start Guide” link above to access full details of PBL activities)
Once your company decides to get actively involved in the Contractors in the Classroom program, your BYC Director will be here every step of the way to make sure all your company employees volunteering as Ambassadors feel 100% comfortable and prepared as they begin engaging with your schools of choice. With all our available Ambassador resources, options to customize your presentations, personalized orientation sessions and the existing relationships BYC has with almost 400 Carolinas region K-12 schools, each and every one of our CAGC member firms now possess all the tools necessary for effectively promoting construction career awareness to future generations of workers!
For more information on the CAGC Foundation’s Build Your Career workforce development initiative, our Contractors in the Classroom program, to volunteer to become a BYC Ambassador or to request your own onsite customized Ambassador training session, please visit our website or contact Betsy Bailey, via email at BBailey@CarolinasAGC.org or by phone at (704) 372-1450.To make a charitable contribution to BYC, please visit our secure online donation portal.
