In October, SI NOW’s education and workforce task force partnered with the Success Network to host an education and workforce asset mapping meeting focused on the Southern Illinois region. This convening highlighted key challenges, desired outcomes, scaling needs, and priorities for advancing career pathways for Southern Illinois students. Nearly 30 stakeholders representing SI Now’s 17-county footprint attended the meeting. Following the meeting, partners have made progress on ideas to coordinate business/industry visits at a regional level and create a master calendar to assist schools with planning student industry days and connecting with employers. The next steps include meeting with the region’s ROEs to re-introduce SI Now’s goals and discuss collaborative strategies further.
