Ignite Skills Foundation is proud to have sponsored and participated in the 2024 Washington School Counselors Association (WSCA) conference in Everett, WA from March 6-8! Over the course of two days, we spread awareness about youth apprenticeships to the 700 school counselors attending, specifically focusing our efforts on high school counselors. We had an exhibit table with a wide array of flyers including many provided by Apprenticeship USA and some customized by Ignite Skills which included information such as what apprenticeships are, the differences between apprenticeships and internships, and the benefits of apprenticeships. The flyers and tabletop flyer holders had QR codes to Ignite Skills and Apprenticeship USA websites.
We emphasized listings for high schoolers in Washington State and new industries such as cybersecurity, energy, and advanced manufacturing. Many counselors mentioned their students were specifically interested in these new industries and it was encouraging to know we are focusing our efforts in the right direction. We interacted directly with a large number of counselors and were able to gain insight about whether they and their students were aware of youth apprenticeships and the programs and resources available to their students to explore apprenticeships. Overall, it was a great event for Ignite Skills to gain some insights into what resources would be most useful for counselors and their students! We received great responses and were thrilled by the strong encouragement and interest in follow-up information sessions!
