"We have found that soft skills, like critical thinking and teamwork, are not being stressed in the schools. Students do not have a realistic concept of what it takes to be successful in the workplace," says Marnie Andrew, director of educational initiatives for the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce. The chamber has developed the Franklin Initiative, an innovative response aimed at alleviating some of the skills shortages being experienced by businesses in the community. According to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, employers are looking for employees who can apply good listening skills, work as team members, and adhere to safety procedures. These skills are often more important than technical skills, which can be taught on the job.

It is often difficult for employers to find workers with both sets of skills. A recent national survey by the U.S. Conference of Mayors finds that 90 percent of mayors say that training the workforce to stay competitive in a changing environment is a challenge for their communities. In the past few years, Bloomington, along with much of the rest of the state, has lost many jobs in the manufacturing area. As manufacturers close businesses or lay off workers, other sectors are having a difficult time finding qualified candidates for positions. Local businesses took their concerns to the chamber, which looked for a way to address their needs.

The chamber established the Franklin Initiative from a school-to-career task force that was started in 1995 by Bloomington's mayor. "The task force established a collaborative partnership between businesses and educators," says Andrew. The 4-year-old Franklin initiative develops the skills of Bloomington's future workforce while underscoring the importance of staying in school. The initiative provides students in kindergarten through 12th grade with the opportunity to learn more about occupations, to find out how the things they learn in school apply to the workplace, and to develop the soft skills that employers seek.

Until now, the initiative has primarily served middle school and high school students in Monroe County's two school districts, but it is expanding its elementary school programs. The initiative's impact has dramatically increased in the short time it has been operating, increasing from serving 50 students in its first year to serving nearly 4,000 during the 1999-2000 school year. More than 700 businesses participate in the initiative's programs.

Bringing professionals into the classroom. "Students often ask, 'Why do I need to learn this?'" Andrew says. The Franklin Initiative attempts to establish a connection between the classroom and the workplace. The program establishes this connection through collaborative teaching that pairs a business professional with a teacher to prepare a joint lesson plan.

Generally, the teacher presents his or her curriculum and the businessperson provides the students with a real life example of how this information is used in the workplace. For example, the initiative matched an eighth-grade math teacher teaching percentages and ratios with a retail banker. The banker presented students with information on how to obtain a mortgage. Students reported that the banker's presentation helped the information "click" for them, says Andrew.

Some collaborative teaching experiences allow students to use the information they are learning in a work-related situation. Rather than have social studies students simply research and write a report on a country, the students were challenged by the business professional to "sell" their country to him, using a 2-minute presentation to tell him why to relocate his business to their country. After listening to all the presentations, he selected the top eight, and those students made their presentations to the president of his company. This exercise not only encouraged the students to research and learn more about a country, it also taught them marketing and presentation skills.

The collaborative teaching program exposes students to many different professions and enhances the curriculum. Teachers report that students are learning and remembering more, according to Andrew. Individual teachers do this type of teaching but the Franklin Initiative is the first in the area to organize it into a program, thus saving the teachers time by matching them with interested businesses, she adds.

Workplace programs help students and employers. The Franklin Initiative also offers internship and job shadowing programs to give students hands-on learning experience. Open to students in all grade levels, the job shadow program is a noncredit, nonpaid, short-term assignment that allows students to spend anywhere from a couple of hours to a day in a workplace. This program has been valuable to businesses such as hospitals experiencing worker shortages, because it allows them to inform students of job opportunities available in their area and helps students make career choices based on reality, Andrew notes. For example, students who want to be attorneys are often surprised to find out that much of an attorney's time is spent researching and reading. "They think it's going to be exciting like they see on television," Andrew says.

The initiative's 18-week internship program is for high school seniors only. The internship is unpaid but students receive academic credit. "These programs show students the skills needed for jobs, and some companies even design a project for the student to work on during their internship," says Andrew. During the 2000-01 school year, more than 200 students interned with 85 local businesses. Some businesses offer apprenticeship programs in which the company pays for the postsecondary education of a student who works for it during his or her junior and senior years in high school. In exchange, the student commits to working for the company for 2 years after completing his or her education.

In addition to increasing the employability of graduates in Monroe County, the Franklin Initiative also aims to increase graduation rates. Their programs stress the importance of staying in school and continuing education in preparation for a career.

Previously funded by a school-to-career grant, the Franklin Initiative is now completely funded by community contributions and grants. The chamber provides office space and staff support.

In addition, the initiative has a grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce and receives major support from the Bloomington Economic Development Corporation. Local businesses and school districts also provide contributions. Schools are not charged for the initiative's programs and services.

For more information, contact: Marnie Andrew, Director of Educational Initiatives, Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce, P.O. Box 1302, Bloomington, IN 47402, (812) 336-6381, (812) 336-0651 (fax), mandrew@chamber.bloomington.in.us.