DULUTH — Why does career exploration have to stop at the high school level?
Brenda Shafer-Pellinen, a program development specialist for the Arrowhead Area Agency on Aging, found herself asking that question each time she helped high schoolers explore jobs in health care.
“Every time we have one of the programs, you will hear at least a couple of those parents say, ‘Man, I wish we had had something like this when I was young,’” she said.
The Arrowhead Area Agency on Aging, a division of the Arrowhead Regional Development Commission, announced its pilot program Launch North in early February. Funded by a grant from the state Department of Health, a series of four events over the next year will offer adults of any age in Northern Minnesota a chance to explore a new career path.
The first is 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m. March 28 at Lake Superior College in Duluth. Participants will have a chance to learn about eight different career paths in health, including social work, public health education and lab sciences and epidemiology.
Shafer-Pellinen said individuals either working or teaching those careers will lead 40-minute sessions, talking about what the job is, what it pays and what type of education is needed to go into that field.
“One of the things that’s really compelling to participants is to hear from individuals and hear, ‘What is your best day and worst day when you are working in nursing?’” she said.
There will also be a working lunch, where participants can talk with someone in workforce development about resources out there to support career transitions and someone from the host college to talk about the education side, like financial aid and transfer programs.
Shafer-Pellinen said in her work, she sees a lot of people stuck in a job they don’t love because there are too many barriers to trying something new.
“But what if we remove those barriers?” she said.
Launch North is free and includes lunch and materials. There are also child care reimbursement scholarships and transportation stipends available.
Shafer-Pellinen said after the event, there will also be follow-up with participants to help guide them through the next steps.
But perhaps the biggest hurdle will be taking a chance on yourself and trying something new.
“Often, when we’re adults, we’ve got our families and things like that, and a lot of times we don’t think about ourselves, and we don’t even dare to dream that there could be something else,” Shafer-Pellinen said.
“ ... This is your chance. For everyone who’s ever thought, ‘Man I wish I could have done this, or I wish I could have done that.’ No coulda, shoulda, woulda. This is about now. This is about taking that opportunity for themselves and really exploring what their future might hold.”
The first four events are centered around health care, but if they're successful, Launch North has the potential to explore other areas.
“If this is something that resonates well with people, that people are interested in, there's no reason why we couldn't do the same thing for manufacturing or transportation or hospitality or child care or any other area,” Shafer-Pellinen said.
The March 28 event in Duluth is limited to 32 participants. Apply online.
The next event is Oct. 10 in Grand Rapids, and the final two will be next spring in International Falls and Cloquet.
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