There”s a new Los Gatos High School Job Shadowing Program that will help juniors explore career possibilities by matching them with businesses, government agencies and individuals. Some big-name Silicon Valley companies are already committed, but the program”s founder is looking for more to join the likes of Google, Cisco Systems, Lockheed Martin and NASA.
March 2 is the official job shadow day. That”s when the Los Gatos students will spend three to four hours getting a feel for the industry of their choice.
“The kids are really excited about it,” founder Barbara Holmes said. “We have about 50 students signed up, but we”re hoping to send 100 kids out on March 2.”
Student registration is open until Feb. 22. The deadline for host company registration is Feb. 13, so students will have plenty of time to peruse the available jobs.
There are more than two dozen businesses, agencies and individuals involved so far, including Santa Clara County Supervisor Mike Wasserman, Van Meter Elementary School and the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department. There are also photographers, reporters and environmental companies signed up. Many will be hosting multiple students.
“We definitely need more companies in all different fields,” Holmes said. “Health is a big void; I don”t have anything in that area, but I do have kids interested in medical fields like nursing.”
Holmes and her husband Jeff are co-owners of the 3marketeers, a San Jose-based advertising agency, and there will be opportunities for students to job shadow there as well. “They can shadow members of our graphic design group, meet with our coding programmers and discuss the clients we handle,” Holmes said.
Students who go to the 3marketeers will meet CEO Jeff Holmes, who has participated in Lynbrook High School”s job shadow program for at least 10 years.
“His connection to Lynbrook allowed me to get educated on creating this program for our students,” Holmes said.
The couple also has a vested interest in job shadowing because they have a junior and a freshman at Los Gatos High School and a sixth-grader at Fisher Middle School.
Although this year”s program is limited to juniors, plans call for it to be expanded to other grades. “The goal is to get them younger, so if they don”t like a job they can try something else next year. We have heard kids say they don”t like a job,” Holmes said.
Holmes wants to go further still and develop an internship program for high school seniors. “My goal is to work with companies to set up a senior intern program where they can really focus on where they want to spend their time after high school,” she said.
Although the Los Gatos High School Job Shadow Program comes under the New Tech High umbrella, it”s open to all juniors, not just those enrolled in New Tech.
Visit myjobshadow.com for more information. Email Barbara Holmes at host@myjobshadow.com.
