Teacher bootcamp bridges gap between education and business in Ashland

ASHLAND — A group of 24 teachers filed into a conference room at BCU Electric Thursday, sitting down at a table under blue-tinted lights. Ben Uselton, the owner, stepped up to share about his company.

“I love sharing about the industry,” Uselton said.

Uselton described his success as an electrician, and in growing his company, which he said now has “between 500-700 W-2s.”

He gave the teachers a tour of the BCU Electric facility, explaining how the business operates. Then, he brought them back to the conference room to answer questions.

Uselton’s presentation touched on several common themes in the workforce development realm today: an impending worker shortage, the importance of skills like adaptability and communication and the idea that college isn’t for everybody.

“I didn’t go to college,” Uselton said. “So, if I can do this, it means any ordinary guy is capable of it too.”

Building a school-to-workforce pipeline

Uselton’s message is the crux of the teacher bootcamp — called 2BE Connected — the 24 attendees signed up for. The bootcamp, hosted in Ashland by the North Central Workforce Alliance, attracted teachers from Ashland and Wayne counties.

“This is probably one of the biggest success stories for the NCWA,” said Erv Howard, the organization’s executive director. It’s also picked up steam in the last couple years, he said, with other counties and even the state adopting similar programs.

Teachers complete behind-the-scenes tours of several businesses, like BCU Electric. It provides the chance to learn about employment opportunities available for their students straight out of high school, along with offering insight into the skills employers are searching for.

Over the course of Thursday and Friday, the teachers completed behind-the-scenes visits of the following Ashland County companies:

• Centerra
• BCU Electric
• Simonson Construction
• Atlas Fasteners
• Step 2
• Brethren Care Village
• City of Ashland

It’s free of charge, and teachers receive continuing education credits for their participation.

According to Uselton with BCU Electric, the program is important because opportunities at businesses like his are open now.

He talked about workforce shortages starting to impact his business, and said he anticipates them worsening in the coming years. Presenters at Centerra offered similar sentiments Thursday morning.

But, without teachers knowing they exist, students are less likely to find them.

Bridging the gap

Sandy Miller, a 23-year teacher at West Holmes High School, said she elected to participate in the bootcamp to be able to better bridge the gap between school and the workforce.

Miller teaches art, and said she “fully acknowledges” most of her students won’t continue with art in the future. But, she said, art can teach skills that might be applicable to the workforce someday.

Work ethic, creativity and the ability to give and receive feedback are all put into practice in her classroom on the daily.

Following the bootcamp, Miller said she feels more equipped to tell her students how these skills might apply to their future. She can point to specific companies that named those skills as important. That, in turn, helps students understand how they’ll be able to use their education in the workforce.

Ryan Stackhouse, a teacher and coach at Ashland City Schools, attended the bootcamp because he said not all his students want to go to college.

“I want to make sure I know what other options are available,” Stackhouse said.

That idea that college shouldn’t be a foregone conclusion is one both Miller and Uselton also touched on. Miller said fewer of her students look toward college these days, while more have plans to enter the workforce. A lot of that comes back to a desire to avoid taking on debt, in Miller’s experience.

“Students don’t know what they don’t know, so we have to provide the opportunities to learn that,” Miller said.