Career center staff visit local businesses

Career center staff visit local businesses
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Erla Bartell, left, and Chris Rufenacht on bike; Jeff Newsome, Jason Miller, John Fisher, John Resh, Kendra Yoder, Melissa Thomas, Brad Pfeiffer and Kim Fisher.

                        

Buckeye Career Center staff participated in an in-service on Friday, Oct. 12 that included visits to businesses within the career clusters offered at Buckeye to connect the needs of the local workforce to the curriculum being taught to BCC students.

Those in attendance were encouraged to view employees in action during the work day, identify employer expectations for employees and gain insight to help students achieve employment. In addition to hearing the specific needs of each industry, Buckeye staff also learned employers are seeking applicants with excellent soft skills.

Mark’s Place Salon and Spa owner Mark Luikart explained his employees must interview their clients to provide the best experience possible. “You’re not going to fulfill what they want unless you can ask, listen and provide follow-up questions,” Luikart said.

Luikart also expressed the need for his stylists to have basic math skills for coloring techniques. “Say you mixed 4 ounces of color and have an ounce left over. [You need to] change your formula to cut that down,” he said.

Buckeye business/marketing instructor Heather Coletti explained to staff Friday afternoon that Walnut Creek Foods has consistent expectations for both truck drivers and customer-service representatives.

“Communication skills are important to them. They want truck drivers to have skills because they are dealing with customers just as much as someone in the office,” Coletti said.

While presenting to BCC staff, Commercial Truck Technology instructor Chris Rufenacht complimented the Kimble Companies for employing current students or alumni from the majority of labs offered at BCC. He also made note of the safety procedures his group witnessed while touring the landfill facilities.

“I think it was an eye-opener for those who have never been there. Safety is very big out there, which is why we teach our kids safety in all our classes. Safety is our main thing,” Rufenacht said.

All the businesses that participated in the staff in-service included Walnut Creek Foods, Cleveland Clinic Union Hospital, Park Village, Skyline Homes, ProVia, Tuscarawas County Jail, Multi-County Juvenile Attention Center, STAR Alternative School, Dover Hydraulics, Allied Machine & Engineering, Adventure Harley Davidson, the Kimble Companies, Mark’s Place Salon & Spa, and A New Angle Salon.


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