This week began with a day designated by Congress as part of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act of 1968, as President’s Day. Before this designation, each state was free to or not to recognize a day off during the month of February to celebrate President George Washington’s birthday. Some states, such as ours, also designated President Abraham Lincoln’s birthday as a potential holiday prior to the Act’s passage.
If you had this potential ‘Monday Holiday’ off, I hope you enjoyed your long weekend. I added the word ‘potential,’ is because as with most such holidays, this past Monday, February 20th, or President’s Day, not everyone got a day off.
Back in my ‘School Days’ (both as a student and then as a teacher), this past long weekend was known as our ‘Mid-winter Break.’ Depending on if any ‘Snow Days’ had been accumulated earlier in the winter, it was the first opportunity to get a dreaded ‘Make up Day.’
More importantly, for those of us in vocational education, it was the demarcation that it was time to go out on ‘Co-Op.’ That’s short for Cooperative Education. Co-op was coveted because it was your time as an apprentice to show that you were a budding master craftsman and demonstrate to the world what you knew. It was also a great opportunity to make a couple of bucks, and we all understood that it was the beginning of your extended ‘interview’ for your dream job.
There would be no more boring theory lectures, pop quizzes, or even hallway banter. It was time to get to work—and we couldn’t wait for that day to come. From my viewpoint, over the ensuing half-century since my days in school, Cooperative Education has only gotten better.
On behalf of our local high schools, career and technology centers, community college, colleges, and universities, please consider the possibility of adding a ‘coop student’ or two, to your employees. Four excellent benefits that come to mind immediately for why you might consider hiring a co-op student are:
- Establishing a pipeline of talent from educational institutions directly to your company.
- Creating cost-effective solutions to complete some special or seasonal projects, thereby freeing up existing personnel to focus on other areas.
- Adding a fresh perspective, some new ideas, and even diversity to your labor pool and the ability and motivation to solve problems together.
- Giving current employees a chance to lead and to teach their skills to others.
Chances are that SUN Tech and the Northumberland County Tech come immediately to mind when thinking about potential co-op students. Let me also mention to you Penn State-Schuylkill as a possible contact for co-op program participants. To learn more, please visit: schuylkill.psu.edu/campus-life/career-development-center.
We’ve been working closely with Katharina Stuerzl, who is the Coordinator of Career Services at Penn State-Schuylkill as they move more and more of their activities into the Greater Susquehanna Valley. This Penn State campus could very possibly be the missing head-end to the pipeline of talent for local employers and their talent recruitment needs. Please give Katharina a call at 570-385-6253 or drop her a note at kjs7153@psu.edu.
Artisan Show this Saturday
Beat back any winter blues that might be nagging you, brush off your cabin fever, and come out to see, experience, and even acquire some finely curated items from local artists and crafters at the Artisan Market this coming Saturday, February 25th from 10 am-3 pm at the Lewisburg YMCA, Miller Center.
To learn more, click on this video and hear from Dani Reber of 45W as she explains what awaits you at this year’s Artisan Market:
As a former ‘Co-op kid’ I thank you for considering this option. With an ever-flowing conduit of talent delivered via cooperative education, our best days certainly lie just ahead.
