Helping hands: New website from PA CareerLink helps connect businesses with future employers

Companies of every size and industry are facing unprecedented challenges finding workers to fill open positions. There are over 10 million job openings in the United States but only about 6 million active job seekers to fill them. Long gone are the days when job vacancies are filled easily with Help Wanted signs. Employers must be proactive in engaging future workers at an age when they are making career decisions.

Advance Central PA, with support from the PA CareerLink Business Solutions Team, would like to introduce Path to Careers, a website that efficiently connects businesses with schools and students, helps schools to better understand business needs, and allows students to experience career pathways first-hand.

By creating a profile on the Path to Careers website, www.pathtocareers.org, businesses can connect with students through customized career awareness experiences. Schools also register on the Path to Careers website so that educators and students can connect with local businesses to learn about and experience local careers.

Whether a student is figuring out what’s next after high school, an educator is striving to better prepare students for the next step in their lives, or a business is looking to find the next generation of leaders, making intentional connections is key. Path to Careers shows students the variety of career pathways available in central PA that align with their interests and skills, provides educators with information about the skills and knowledge needed for students to be successful, and creates opportunities for businesses to directly engage with their future workforce.

Path to Careers makes it easy for businesses to connect with more students from multiple schools. Businesses simply create a profile on the website and post experiences they would like to offer, such as: cooperative education, guest speaker, industry tour, internship, job shadow, mentoring, mock interview, pre-apprenticeship, summer employment, volunteer opportunity, and teacher in the workplace.

Join these Centre County businesses who were first to register on the Path to Careers website: Juniper Village; Scott’s Landscaping; Glenn O. Hawbaker; Geisinger; Cintas; Home Instead; Strawberry Fields; and South Hills School of Business and Technology. For more information or assistance with creating a Path to Careers business profile and student experiences, contact: BusinessSolutions@CentralPACL.com.

Upcoming Job Fairs PA co-hosted by CareerLink

Spring Job Fair: March 30, 1-5 p.m., Central Pennsylvania Institute of Science and Technology, 540 N. Harrison Road, Pleasant Gap, PA 16823 — 38 employers, various industries

Job and Resource Fair for Justice Affected Individuals: April 18, 4-7 p.m. at Penn State Career Services, 101 Bank of America Career Services Center, University Park, PA 16802