S1E2: How Workforce Development Bridges the Gap Between Education & Employers

How do we prepare students for real-world jobs—and give employers the workforce they need?In this episode of Beyond the Classroom, we explore how LCCC’s workforce development efforts are bridging the gap between education and employment across Wyoming.

💡 You’ll hear:

• Why workforce development matters
• How education and industry work hand-in-hand
• What students gain from short-term training
• How businesses can get involved

Whether you're planning your next career move or hiring for skilled roles, this episode is packed with practical insights.

🎙️ Hosted by [Your Name] | Produced by LCCC Outreach & Workforce Development

📲 Listen on Spotify, YouTube, Amazon, and Castbox. Learn more at ⁠lccc.wy.edu

Transcript

SPEAKER_01: 0:00

Welcome back to Beyond the Classroom, where we explore how real-world skills meet real-world success. We're your hosts, Adam Wynn and James Drudge, and today's episode focuses on the full journey, from the first day of training all the way to landing the job.

SPEAKER_02: 0:26

Joining us today is Tanya Hacker, once again, Dean of Outreach and Workforce Development here at LCCC. We're going to talk about what it really takes to support someone through their transition. It's more than just skills. It's career planning, confidence building, networking, and strong partnerships with local employers. Whether you're looking for your first job, switching careers, or reentering the workforce, LCCC is ready to help you. So let's just dive in. When someone enrolls in a training program, what can they expect? What kind of support do you provide for them?

SPEAKER_00: 1:06

Yeah, well, thanks for having me again. I'm so happy to be here. This is so much fun. And like I mentioned in the last episode, I could talk about this stuff all day. So I won't, though, I promise. When somebody enrolls, they can expect very, very hands-on technical support. Our instructors, our staff are there to really, our jobs are to support our students through their training program and through their transition, both into the program and out into the workforce. So I think, you know, when you, you think about what your experience is going to be when you're going through any one of our training programs here. It's going to be immersive. It's going to be very hands-on, a lot of support, a lot of guidance, a lot of encouragement. You are expected to come in knowing not much about the topic that you're being trained on. So there shouldn't be any intimidation about, oh no, what if I don't know this? Or what if I don't know that? Our jobs are to help you learn and to help you grow so that by the time you leave the program, you are ready to hit the ground running in your career or your job. So not only would you get support from the instructors here, but I think both of you could attest to the kinds of support we have from our partners within our community as well. So if you need a little extra job search assistance or a little extra time to prepare for interviews and feedback on your resume, those kinds of things, we have partners within our community at the Workforce Center through Department of Workforce Services who will step up and are ready to help our students with that. We have industry partners who are willing to come in and do mock interviews with our students to help you prepare for the interview and job search process and kind of know what sorts of questions to expect when you go to an interview within your specific industry. So I think in general you can just expect lots of support and that's what we're here for. Would you guys agree? How

SPEAKER_01: 3:02

do we help students identify their career goals during their training?

SPEAKER_00: 3:07

That's a great question. I think one of the big pieces of that really is our industry experience portion of our training. So connecting with our industry partners in a way that help expose our students to what the opportunities are locally, regionally, and nationally within whatever industry it is that they choose to go into. So one example that comes to mind that is our healthcare technical training programs, we have one called a certified clinical medical assistant training. And that is a program designed to get someone trained up to go into a clinical setting or a hospital setting and provide assistance to the providers within that setting. So they do everything from checking vitals to just getting people ready for their appointments, those kinds of things. And they get to do some clinical rotation externship experiences within industry to kind of determine maybe what kind of setting they would really like to work in, whether it's a doctor's office versus a hospital setting, an outpatient setting, those kinds of things. So that sort of... experiential opportunity to to learn about the different career settings can be really powerful. And research actually shows that that's the most effective way to learn what it is you want to do. Now, if somebody comes into one of our training programs, let's say, for example, CDL and James, I'll let you I'll let you jump in on that since that that's your area of expertise. Then they're not sure whether or not they want to be an over the road trucker or a, you know, owner operator of their own own operation or something. Can you speak a little bit to how you might, you know, how your program does help students determine that? So one of the first things we

SPEAKER_02: 4:58

do with every class is we make sure that they understand all of the different opportunities that are available to folks. So if they want to go over the road, this is what your life looks like. We have instructors who have been over-the-road drivers. If you want to stay local, these are the various job opportunities within the CDL industry locally. It could be cement mixing. It could be just doing daily deliveries, right? There's a lot of companies that need to deliver from warehouses to the stores. It could be gravel hauling. It could be any number of things. So first, we encourage folks to figure out what it is they want their life to look like. What do you want your home life to look like? Do you want to be home every single night sleeping in your own bed? Or do you want to be a Can you be away from home for, let's say, a few days at a time, a week at a time, several weeks at a time, right? When you're young and first starting out, exploring the country may be exactly what you want. When you're married and you've got kids, a whole different world, right? You don't want to miss those birthdays and those soccer games. So you're looking for something different. So we help them understand what it is they're looking to get out of their career. And then here's all the job opportunities that might match that. Once you figured that out, now it's time to start

SPEAKER_00: 6:15

looking for an actual company. That's wonderful. That's a prime example. And I think sometimes maybe some of our students come into our programs not realizing what the different options are, what the different career opportunities are right here in their backyard. So learning about those is really important and something we really try to do in all of our training programs.

SPEAKER_02: 6:35

So speaking of job placement and finding jobs, how do we help our learners connect with different opportunities? Outside of what I just discussed with CDL, how do we do it for the rest of our programs?

SPEAKER_00: 6:46

Yep. We have quite a few different opportunities we can provide to connect students to to openings within our community within our region and it really depends on the industry they're going into so we offer manufacturing program here so we have the advanced manufacturing and materials center we have employee employer partners industry partners who come on campus and interview our students at the very end of their training program with us now whether that our students get hired on to those companies or whether the students even want to go into those, go to work for those companies really is beside the point. The point is to give them the experience and opportunity to, number one, learn what different job opportunities are available. And number two, to get some practice on interviewing because that's important. The other piece is we're just really plugged into the job fair world here within our communities. So anytime there is a job fair and we have students in our programs that could benefit from that, we we are making sure our students have the opportunity to attend. And we do have some on campus where we have employers coming to campus and recruiting for various jobs in different industries. And we have some that are happening within our communities off campus. And so just really helping our students understand opportunities, you know, to take advantage of those opportunities to go out. And I know we'll get to this later, but it really is sometimes just about networking and getting your face and getting your face in front of other employers that you may not have otherwise had the opportunity to interact with. That's really, really important. So beyond just kind of helping them prepare for that career transition, when it comes to the nuts and bolts of actually transitioning into a career, I would say those are the two that are the biggest is really leaning into our industry partners and then helping our students know about opportunities within our communities to find jobs.

SPEAKER_01: 8:42

What industries are currently, excuse me, currently hiring our graduates and why are they hiring our graduates?

SPEAKER_00: 8:51

Because our graduates are the best. Of course. Of course. So, gosh, again, it kind of depends on we're so unique in outreach and workforce development. And then we offer just such a wide range of training opportunities. And so the jobs that our students would be going into are everything from entry level to advanced technical positions within certain industries. And so I think, you know, again, it really kind of depends on the context. depends on the program. But when I say that our grads are the best, I mean it. I mean, really, we have worked so hard to stand up training programs here that are aligned with our industry needs that teach our students best practices within the industry, skills that are relevant, skills that are highly technical, skills that are needed within the industries so that they have what they need to be successful in that job and that the employer doesn't have to retrain people once they get on site, that they're ready to go for the most part. And that's a continuous effort to really keep those programs up to date and keep them relevant and keep them competitive and keep them leading edge. But honestly, that is, I mean, when somebody goes through our program, it's hard work for them. I mean, and they learn a lot and they come out with very significant skills. And so we have companies like Woodward in Colorado, which is a world-renowned company hiring our students on a regular basis. We have local companies. who want to hire our students on a regular basis. In the transportation industry, James can probably speak to companies that are just waiting to hire our students coming out of our CDL programs. We have our local hospital and local clinics needing and wanting to hire our students coming out of our medical assisting program. Local dentist office wanting to hire students coming out of our dental assisting program. We have two very robust, wonderful apprenticeship programs in HVAC and plumbing. And those two are very unique because they're already hired on as apprentices, right, with the companies. And so that's a partnership with the industry. But we have very strong partners with those industries, HVAC and plumbing industries in town. who send their apprentices through our training programs here at LCCC. So again, it kind of depends, but I can say that we have some good students coming out of our programs ready to hit the ground running.

SPEAKER_02: 11:22

So I was going to ask you about, you know, how we connect with employers and what impact that has, but I think you've covered that pretty well. So you mentioned we were going to get back to networking. So let's talk a little bit more about networking, how that works, not only from the college's side, you've touched on that too, but More importantly, from our students' side, how do we help them begin the networking process? What do they get out of it? And how's it going to help them later?

SPEAKER_00: 11:47

Well, I don't know about you guys, but just the thought of networking with people I don't know sometimes gives me hives. It's scary. It can be scary. And so, of course, it's going to be scary for our students as well. So if we can help facilitate that process for them, we will absolutely do that. And what that means is the warm handoff. a listen I know somebody who works at such and such a company and they might have some information that may be helpful for you as you're looking for the right career for you let me set up a time for you to talk to them or let me do an email introduction those kinds of things so we can certainly help with that but it is I mean when you when you talk about the importance of networking it is everything it is so important it really really is I think you're so much more likely and I don't have a statistic in front of me but I'm sure we could find it you are so much more likely to land a job, to land a career If you've already made a prior connection with that employer, then you do going in cold with absolutely no relationship prior. So I don't know if you guys would have anything to add to that based on your own personal experience with students, but it's so, so important. And also, you know, ways to network. There are all kinds of different opportunities to network, whether it's different events in the community, associations you can get involved with. You know, when we do invite employers on campus, you know, taking the time to have conversations with them, those kinds of things. What do you guys think?

SPEAKER_01: 13:18

I think in my role, one of the things I was thinking about with networking is I may not necessarily work directly with an employer, but whether it's you, Tanya, James, I know Dave, if you guys are giving somebody a tour, I always meet them. And, you know, at that moment, it might not be a big deal for me. But down the road, I may have a student that says, hey, I'm interested in this industry. And I'm like, oh, okay, I know this person over here. And we can do that warm handoff. And it's not just to other LCCC employers. It's partners in the community, people that could be hiring them.

SPEAKER_00: 13:55

That's right. And one example, I'm going to tell a quick story. Hopefully that's okay. One example, I used to work with a student who wanted to go into a like music recording, music production type of industry. And there just isn't a lot of that around here, unfortunately. So it's down to the Kevin Bacon theory of six degrees of separation, right? That we are all, we know someone who knows someone who knows someone up to six degrees who knows Kevin Bacon. That's the theory. So that's the whole thought of networking is that I may not know someone in the music production industry, but I bet just So-and-so who I do know knows someone who might know someone. And the student and I worked through that network and ended up landing him a summer internship. Toby Keith at the time had a recording studio in Nashville. And that student from Wyoming was able to land a summer internship in music production in Toby Keith's studio in Nashville due to that kind of networking effort. So that kind of gives you an example of the power of networking and what that can do for individuals. Definitely worthwhile.

SPEAKER_01: 15:03

That's a cool story. What are some of the common concerns that our job seekers have and how do we help them navigate those concerns?

SPEAKER_00: 15:12

Sure. I think, you know, one of the biggest concerns right now that seems to pop up quite a bit is just the digital world of the job application process. You know, it's not... It's not a paper resume anymore. Oftentimes, it's not even an in-person interview to start with. It is a virtual interview, and it is all virtual documentation. And there may not be a handshake. There may not be an in-person introduction. And I think that can be intimidating for some people, and sometimes an obstacle. So we really try to help people learn how to navigate those obstacles. sort of 21st century skills when it comes to job application and job search. The other one is just how do I know it's the right job for me? And really taking a hard look at the values and what's important to you back to what James mentioned before about kind of work-life balance. And with CDL, maybe over the road isn't for you. If you've got a young family at home, maybe it's something else to look at. So support with that is important as well.

SPEAKER_02: 16:15

So you've shared a success story with us, which is awesome. Can you talk to us a little bit about reskilling and upskilling?

SPEAKER_00: 16:22

Sure. So that's really about kind of Those are two different things. Upskilling is when you get into the workforce and you've been working for a while and you need to develop a new skill set to be able to move up in your company or to be able to advance within your position and within your job. And you need to come back and learn a new skill. Those are key. So we offer that. It's called continuing education in various industries. One example might be welding. So you go out and you're a welder and you need to come back and you need to learn a very, very specific skill to go onto a different job site or into a different project that you're working on, that's something that we could potentially offer here by offering courses for continuing education. Reskilling is, let's say that you go into a particular job and you get a promotion or you decide you want a completely different role, that you need to develop a new skill set in order to be able to do that job, that you would come back and you would do training to be able to develop those new skills to go into that new career field. And both of those are super important for employment success. It's not the 1920s through 60s anymore where you go into one job and stay in that job until you retire. Things are constantly shifting and changing with technology. And so it's really important that we stay open to being lifelong learners, for sure.

SPEAKER_01: 17:47

Thinking about our programs, how do you define success when it comes to training to employment outcomes?

SPEAKER_00: 17:55

Well, I think that as long as someone is able to go out into the workforce, be doing something that they can be proud of, that can support their family, support themselves, that is, they feel like they're making a significant contribution and they're happy with what they're doing. I feel like we've done our jobs well here, right? And then on the employer side, if we're able to provide them a talent pipeline that is meeting their needs to be able to run their company, I think we've been successful. So that's how I would identify success on those two sides. It feels like a risk, but take the leap, come back to school, get retrained and re-skilled, explore some different options and try something new. It can be risky. It can be scary. There's lots of things to consider. But one thing we're good at is we're good at working with adult learners. So somebody who has a full-time job, you know, potentially, but you're feeling underemployed, like you could be doing something different, better, making more money, those kinds of things. We offer class in the evenings. We offer classes on the weekends. You know, we're willing to work around your schedule and work with you. Someone's unemployed, I'd say, you know, start with, again, the Department of Workforce Services, Workforce Center. They have all kinds of options for you to make sure you have the resources you need. And there are some opportunities where you could potentially get your training for free and paid for by a grant. So just don't be afraid to ask questions and reach out. Don't be afraid to take that risk. It's the best investment you can make in yourself.

SPEAKER_01: 19:23

Awesome. Well, that's a wrap for this episode of Beyond the Classroom. If you're thinking about your next step or helping someone else figure it out, remember, you don't have to figure it out alone.

SPEAKER_02: 19:34

LCCC offers short-term career services, employer connections, support to job seekers. You just heard Tanya talk about a lot of that. Obviously, there's more to it, and we need to go further in depth at some point. But learn more at lcccy.edu. Don't forget to subscribe and follow us on YouTube, Spotify, CastBox, and Amazon Music. Thanks for tuning in. And here's to building a stronger workforce one person at a time.