Chamber Seeks to Pair Students, Businesses

In 1994, officials at the Mid Valley Chamber of Commerce were all set to begin a career program that would expose high school students to the realities of the workplace by teaming them with area professionals.

The Northridge earthquake struck and the program was sidetracked.

Four years later, the chamber is ready to try again. Chamber members, area business owners and educators will discuss it at a March 12 meeting.

“We’re trying to reach out to people and show them what can be done,” said Nancy Hoffman, executive vice president of the chamber. “There are so many opportunities for the businesses to form partnerships with education.”

Hoffman said a goal of the meeting is to establish internship and shadowing programs to get the students a firsthand view of the workplace.

“Everyone benefits from internships,” she said. “The company gets a hard worker, and the student has an invaluable experience that will help them make strong professional decisions later in life.”

Hoffman said she also hopes to establish a lecture program that would bring business owners into schools to talk about their careers and offer advice.

“The point is, we all need to get more involved in the education of our future leaders of the business community,” Hoffman said.

Area businesses are invited to attend the meeting sponsored by the chamber and Los Angeles Valley College. It will be held in the Los Angeles Valley College cafeteria conference room at 3 p.m.

For more information, call the chamber at (818) 989-0300.