WESTWOOD—Celebrate Westwood BIZhub Committee invites Westwood’s small business owners and operators to a presentation on Wednesday, May 24 from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. at Westwood Regional High School (WRHS) to learn more about the opportunities for partnership with interns through the WRHS Work-Based Learning (WBL) program.
Registration is required by Friday, May 19 through the website listed below for admittance to the presentation.
Program coordinator Dina Murray says she’s eager to increase connections with the Westwood business community, noting that her students often bring desired skills to businesses understaffed in particular areas, for example, social media, technology, and graphic design.
In return, she says, interns benefit from the mentoring of local business owners and their employees while assisting with a variety of tasks based on the particular needs and industry of any given business.
The WRHS program is designed to help senior students with the opportunity to prepare for a rapidly changing world. Students will be engaged in work experiences of their choice, allowing students to gain a competitive edge in their post-secondary transition. Students will gain hands-on experience while gaining academic credits.
High school seniors who qualify may elect to participate in the WBL program with a minimum requirement of 12 hours per month. WBL experiences are designed to be structured, supervised activities that will assist students in clarifying career goals, exploring career possibilities, developing employable skills, or making the transition between school and employment or further education and training.
The program allows for student exposure to the requirements and responsibilities of specific job titles or job groups and assists them in gaining employment skills and making career and educational decisions.
WBL includes apprenticeships, internships, job shadowing, cooperative education, and school-based enterprises. The experiences may be either paid or unpaid, depending on the type of activities in which the student is involved.
Students annually are paired with local businesses, depending on their interests and skills. Recent partnerships have included Englewood Hospital, AIM Neuro Rehab (Westwood), A Little Cake (Park Ridge), Brookside School, the Office of Congressman Josh Gottheimer, Westwood Borough Hall, Bergen County Zoo, Westwood Ophthalmology, and Conrad’s Confectionery as well as a variety of financial and professional offices throughout the county.
Murray is looking to expand the relationship between WRHS and Westwood business and Celebrate Westwood is excited to facilitate introductions through its BIZhub community.
This event is designed for registered members of BIZhub which focuses on fostering local entrepreneurship while creating an opportunity for networking, professional development, and cross-promotion for the benefit of the entire community.
To register, visit celebratewestwood.org/bizhub. For more information about this event, BIZhub, or Celebrate Westwood, write RoseAnn Ciarlante or Lauren Letizia at celebratwestwood@gmail.com.
For more information on WWRHS Work-Based Learning, write dina.murray@wwrsd.org.