WARREN, Ohio – The Trumbull County Educational Service Center is continuing to expand its Workforce Development and Career Pathways Department in response to growing interest from local school districts seeking additional opportunities for students to explore careers and connect with regional employers.
TCESC now has two career navigators after the hiring of Steve Beshara at a recent governing board meeting. Beshara joins career navigator Skyler O’Donnell, providing the department with additional capacity to deliver career navigator services to 11 school districts throughout Trumbull County.
“What we are seeing across our districts is meaningful work already underway and a growing desire to make career-connected learning more intentional and accessible to every student,” said Jake Kakavros, TCESC supervisor of curriculum and instruction for Workforce Development and Career Pathways. “Adding a second career navigator gives our department greater capacity to work alongside district leaders, counselors and teachers to build upon that work, identify gaps and connect students with pathways, credentials, work-based learning experiences and regional partners. Our goal is to create a coordinated system that begins with career awareness in the early grades and leads to real opportunities as students prepare for life after high school.”
TCESC career navigators work alongside district administrators, counselors, teachers, students and families to help bridge the gap between the classroom and the workforce. Through partnerships with businesses, higher education institutions, training providers and community organizations, the program helps districts identify and develop opportunities that individual schools might otherwise find difficult to provide independently.
One recent example of that work was a partnership involving TCESC’s Workforce Development and Career Pathways Department, career navigator Skyler O’Donnell and Youngstown State University’s Excellence Training Center. O’Donnell connected representatives from several Trumbull County school districts with the Excellence Training Center for tours focused on career and training opportunities they could share directly with students.
“The goal of bringing our district teams to the Excellence Training Center was to give them an opportunity to see these programs firsthand and consider how we can connect their students to them,” O’Donnell said. “There are so many career pathways available right here in our region, and experiences like this help us strengthen connections between our schools and the organizations that can provide students with hands-on learning and real-world opportunities.”
Jackie Ruller, Excellence Training Center director, led the district teams through the facility, highlighting its advanced equipment, hands-on learning spaces and training opportunities in advanced manufacturing, automation, robotics, information technology and other high-demand career fields.
The tours allowed educators to see firsthand how the Excellence Training Center can support career exploration, workforce preparation, work-based learning and connections with regional employers.
A major focus of the visits was identifying opportunities that districts could connect directly to their students. District teams learned about pre-apprenticeship opportunities in information technology and unmanned aircraft systems, or drones, available through the Excellence Training Center. Eligible students can receive hands-on training through work-based learning experiences while developing skills aligned with growing regional industries.
As the career navigator program continues to grow, TCESC will work with participating districts and regional partners to expand career-connected learning and help more Trumbull County students identify pathways that align with their interests, abilities and goals after graduation.
Pictured at top: From left are Steve Beshara, Skylar O’Donnell and Jake Kakavros.