Futures
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AT&T/JA Job Shadow Brings Work-Readiness Skills to 100,000 Students
Students at W.H. Adamson High School assemble for the AT&T/JA Job Shadow Day launch in Dallas. Photo ©AT&T.
It's a shocking statistic. Almost one third of all U.S. public high school students fail to graduate with their class, and many drop out with less than two years to go, according to a recent Gates Foundation study. AT&T and Junior Achievement believe the problem requires strong, immediate action. In October, AT&T and JA jointly launched a $5.5 million, five-year job shadowing initiative that will match 100,000 U.S. students with more than 50,000 AT&T employees to help strengthen high school retention and workforce readiness.
"One of the best ways we can help our young people succeed in high school is to ensure that they see the connection between what they learn in school and what's required in the workplace," said AT&T Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Randall Stephenson. "Across our company, the people of AT&T are proud to join forces with Junior Achievement to help students make that connection and go on to build great careers." The program is part of the $100 million AT&T Aspire Initiative, one of the largest-ever corporate commitments to high school success and work readiness.
AT&T Chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson and high school senior Alex Elizardo enjoy a discussion at an AT&T/JA Job Shadow event in San Antonio. Photo ©AT&T.
AT&T/JA Worldwide Job Shadow brings students into the world of business through classroom instruction followed by on-site mentoring. AT&T is committing 400,000 employee volunteer hours so students can interact with AT&T employees and observe their jobs firsthand. Local Junior Achievement offices work closely with local AT&T operations to set up job shadowing opportunities between students and mentors.
"Seventy-nine percent of students participating in job shadowing report that the program increased their desire to stay in school, so this is clearly a proven way to improve high school success," said Sean C. Rush, president and CEO of JA Worldwide. "Through the job shadowing opportunity, students experience some of the interpersonal nuances of the workplace that are difficult to grasp in a classroom setting, such as the importance of negotiation, teamwork, cooperation, decision making and problem solving. Students also learn to identify and demonstrate the work-readiness skills needed to research, get and keep a job."
Job shadowing helps students develop personal strategies to achieve goals and take advantage of career opportunities, Rush added. "They see that they can be in charge of their futures."