On Groundhog Day, Local Students to Get to Shadow Workers

Tradition has it that winter will hang around six more weeks if Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow on Groundhog Day. But local educators are hoping for sunnier results Feb. 2 when they try to persuade thousands of area small businesses to participate in the third annual Groundhog Job Shadow Day.

That’s a national event in which businesses bring local students into the workplace to give them a taste of the working world. Southern California’s version is being organized by Junior Achievement and local educators, with sponsorship by major corporations. But local organizers say participation of small and medium-sized business will be key to meeting their goal of putting 20,000 students into the workplace. That’s 2 1/2 times the 8,000 youngsters hosted by area businesses last year.

“We want to help kids make that connection between learning and working,” says David Rattray, executive director of UNITE-LA, the local school-to-career partnership that’s helping coordinate the event. “. . . Now we need more businesses to open up their doors and agree to do it.”

He says participating businesses ideally would host 30 students for half a day between Feb. 2 and March 31. However, organizers can arrange smaller groups.

Most of the students will come from area middle schools and high schools, but Rattray says some community college students, disabled kids and elementary school children also will participate this year.

So what’s in it for business owners?

Well, besides doing something good for local kids, previous business participants have used the event to look for summer interns in a tight job market, Rattray says.

For more information on Groundhog Job Shadow Day, contact Junior Achievement at (323) 957-1818, Ext. 25, or check out the national Web site at https://www.jobshadow.org.