This year’s State of Students Report includes 498 responses from 17 high schools in the Suncoast region including public, private and charter institutions.
Students fill out surveys after a session at the State of Jobs Conference in October 2017
On October 10, 2017, 850 high school students from Sarasota and Manatee counties packed Robarts Arena for the State of Jobs Conference, a full day of engaging sessions on a variety of career tracks. Part of the day included surveying the students to get their perspectives on college and careers so we as a community can better design programming to meet their needs. This is where the State of Students Report (SOSR) was born.
The workforce is constantly challenged with reinventing itself to withstand changes from generational shifts on college and careers. The SOSR provides insight on how we can better assist students in exploring opportunities that directly align with their post high school needs.
This year’s State of Students Report includes 498 responses from 17 different schools in Manatee and Sarasota counties including public, private and charter institutions. Students in this report represent five sectors of post-secondary interest including healthcare, engineering/manufacturing, hospitality/tourism, entrepreneurship and information technology.
The 2017 findings build on the 2016 SOSR where we can begin conversations on trends and new developments around student perspective in our region.
“Too often, we focus on telling students exactly what jobs are available by connecting earnings to a profession that’s needed within a community. This forfeits our ability as communities to encourage students to understand their skills, passions, and personality, and connect these attributes to opportunities. We don’t want students finding jobs, we want them excited about careers. Careers that may not even exist yet.” –Chris Laney, Director of Education and Community Investment
The State of Students Report’s purpose is to simply understand what students think about college and careers. It’s up to our community to take the data and apply it to our programming that encourages students to understand the opportunities. By understanding perceptions among students and also surveying employers’ needs, we can better align the needs of students and employers to create a better talent pipeline for tomorrow.
To view the full report, visit stateofstudents.org
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About CareerSource Suncoast
CareerSource Suncoast is a non-profit dedicated to providing education and tools for employers and job-seekers. Our mission is to recruit, train and retain talent for employers on the Suncoast. An equal opportunity employer/program. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities. All voice telephone numbers on this document may be reached by persons using TTY/TDD equipment via the Florida Relay Service at 711.