Road to Employment
Vidalia High School is working to better prepare students to enter the workforce, as they have entered an agreement with Hyundai Motor Group to help students with resumes and job interviews, and eventually, employment.
“All year long, one of the focuses for our high school has been the ‘3 E Framework’ – when our students graduate, they should either be employed, enlisted in the military, or enrolled and ready to go off to college,” Vidalia High School Interim Principal Steve Freenor explained. “Traditionally, schools have done a really good job at getting people ready for the enrolled part, done an okay job with the enlisted part, and then, as the economy has changed, I think schools in general have struggled with getting [students] into the em- continued from page
ployment part.” Freenor said that recently, the school realized the opportunities that students seeking employment have as the Hyundai Motor Group and other industries that have entered the region. He stated that upon this realization, administrators began asking themselves, “What do we need to do to make sure our students are best prepared to seize this moment and take advantage of these opportunities?”
Administrators reached out to several industries new to the region, but were never able to find success in their efforts. Then, in January, Freenor attended the Bryan County Job-A-Palooza Fair in Pooler on behalf of the students, where he began making vital connections with industry officials.
“I took all of our information related to our students – graduation rates, Advanced Placement (AP) classes, number of kids we have, etc. – and I just went in there not looking for a job for me, but essentially, looking for a job for our kids. I went to quite a few employers at that event,” he recalled.
Freenor said that while speaking with officials from Hyundai, he learned that the company was a lot like a college – it had a main campus and several subbusinesses that branched from its name. “I spoke with those businesses and said, ‘I have around 180 kids that will graduate this year. Roughly 90 of them are looking to go into the workforce. So, what can we do?’” he continued.
After attending the job fair, Freenor remained in contact with several of these industry leaders until finally, a partnership was made between Hyundai Motor Group and Vidalia High School.
“They are going to work with us to make sure that our kids have soft skills that they need. They will go through resumes with them and do some mock interviews, and that will culminate in an event that we will have here at the high school where they will come here and interview our kids, and be looking for our students to hire,” he elaborated. “That will be a high school student that makes $40,000 a year after graduation right out of the gate.”
Hyundai representatives have already began working with students to improve their resumes, and students have practiced their interview skills in mock interviews. Soon, these students will tour the Hyundai Metaplant in preparation for their official meetings with the officials around April 15.
In addition to Hyundai, the school has also connected with local industries Trane and Dot Foods, a battery corporation in Metter, and two Hyundai MOBIS Groups, Power Train and Cockpit, to help students have more employment opportunities. School administrators spoke with representatives from each of these companies to learn what they are needing from potential employees to help prepare students to enter these positions.
“The only things they want these kids to have is a good work ethic – show up on time, be a good worker, and be a good kid. We have a lot of kids here that are just that – they show up on time, they’re good workers, and they’re good kids, so I think it is going to be a marriage made in heaven,” Freenor added.
He stated that both students and administrators were enthusiastic about the opportunity. “We are excited to get this kicked off and get these students ready to be employed!” he concluded.
