Today I want to introduce you to a statewide tool called Oregon Connections that our STEM Hub has developed. We’ve worked with industry and educators to design a tool that will really change the way kids connect to careers.  We hope we can count on you to leverage your relationships to impact education and strengthen your future workforce.

The purpose of Oregon Connections is to connect industry professionals with educators to help kids make connections between what they are learning and how it is used in the real world, the kinds of jobs people do that apply those concepts, and the real people who do those jobs for a living. Professionals share their expertise in classrooms or through real-time virtual conversations.

Here are some ways your company can be involved:

• Co-host a hands-on demonstration of Oregon Connections for your employees
• Co-host a webinar to demonstrate Oregon Connections to your employees
• Encourage your employees to get involved directly.  Here is a template email to share with their employees.
• Share promotional material with your networks:

o    1 minute video for email or social media

o    Printable flyer
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As an organization with many members and connections, there are many ways we can work together beyond a simple email.  We could co-host in-person or webinar-moderated demonstrations of Oregon Connections.  We could develop a competition among your members for participation in Oregon Connections. Let’s get creative together.   We encourage you to share the message above, the video seen here, or our promotional materials broadly with your networks.

Thank you for helping us develop Oregon Talent for Oregon Jobs!

Please send this announcement out to your members, join a webinar or invite us to do a demo of the Oregon Connections platform.

Developing great talent is a team sport and we need your help!

Follow us at STEMOregon.org

Please contact Jill.Hubbard@oit.edu or Melissa.Dubois@oit.edu with any questions, follow-up or thoughts on how to reach business volunteers how, when and where they are available.