Students prepare for local workforce

Mt. Vernon Community School Corporation is one of four Hancock County school districts working hard to prepare students for the local workforce and help area businesses secure effective workers.

The school corporation accomplishes this by offering classes that equip students for various professions, as well as opportunities for exploring what kinds of careers are available to them.

Programs Mt. Vernon offers in welding, health science, criminal justice and aviation are all open to any Hancock County high school student.

Mt. Vernon’s welding program and lab thrives with the support of several businesses. Several students work at local companies through the program, and some have even received job offers.

Meet Mt. Vernon students whose futures have been inspired by the school corporation’s welding program.

The school corporation offers two Health Science classes and partners with Springhurst Health Campus, where students work with residents. Additionally, Mt. Vernon partners with Hancock Health, through which students work at the school corporation’s employee clinic.

Mt. Vernon currently boasts a 100% CNA certification pass rate.

Meet Mt. Vernon High School Health Science student Kyla Selbe, who has earned direct admission to a highly regarded nursing program.

In Mt. Vernon’s Criminal Justice program, Instructor Leroy Striker invites dozens of guest speakers from the criminal justice field to address students throughout the year.

Meet Mt. Vernon students who are charting their futures with the help of the school corporation’s criminal justice program.

Students are encouraged to keep their head in the clouds in Mt. Vernon’s aviation program. Meet seniors who have their sights set on careers as pilots.

The school corporation offers a whopping 17 career pathways available to students for fulfilling graduation requirements set by the state.

Mt. Vernon High School hosts an annual career fair featuring exhibitors from local companies and colleges and universities. The school corporation partners with the Mt. Vernon Education Foundation to provide panels of business representatives to speak to students as well. These two partners have also worked to provide career-exploratory breakfasts for high school students featuring a smaller panel of industries followed by individual career tables where students can interact with professionals.

Mt. Vernon Middle School hosts an annual career exploration day, and this year students rotated to about 12 stations to learn about different careers and ask professionals questions.

Soon, Mt. Vernon’s and all of Hancock County’s work-based learning efforts will be even more robust with the opening of the Hancock County Career Center (HC3), which Mt. Vernon High School Assistant Principal Stan Wilkison will lead at Amplify Hancock, a workforce education facility.