The job shadow program is designed to provide 11th and 12th grade high school students with a realistic look at a career that interests them, while giving local employers an opportunity to make a personal impression on the emerging workforce.  Job shadow opportunities are being sought for occupations in all industries, in the public and private sectors, in small as well as large employment environments. Please consider participating in this worthwhile program.

Students are recruited by Career Connections Coordinators in the public high schools and matched with job shadow openings provided by employers. Students report to their employer hosts at the start of the workday, and spend the morning observing the work of the company or agency as it is being performed and learning how to prepare for a career in a particular field.  The enclosed “Employer Guideline” sheet provides additional details about job shadow day expectations.

Students will attend a Chamber Luncheon, the luncheon and special program provide students with a social experience with employer representatives and a wrap-up to their learning for the day. 

 CERTIFICATE OF INSURANCE

In order to participate an employer must have:

• General liability insurance coverage—one million dollars per occurrence or greater is preferred; and
• Worker’s compensation.

In order to document the above coverage, you need to ask your insurance company to issue a certificate of insurance which includes the above listed coverage. Additionally;

• Carroll County Public Schools, 125 N. Court Street, Westminster, MD 21157, should be named as Certificate Holder (mandatory) and
• Carroll County Public School named as Additional Insured (requested if available).

 Individuals, groups, organizations, and businesses that by Maryland Law are mandated to carry Worker’s Compensation Insurance must provide either a Certificate of Insurance or a signed Sole Proprietor Exclusion.

General Liability Requested Limits; $1,000,000.00 Per occurrence, $2,000,000.00 Aggregate.  Lower General Liability limits may be approved if the business owner has Excess/Umbrella Liability coverage of $1,000,000.00.  Per occurrence, $1,000,000.00 Aggregate limits shown on the Certificate of Insurance.

Please contact you insurance agent asking him or her to issue the certificate (faxing this letter to them may help alleviate confusion).  Have your insurance carrier fax a copy of the certificate of insurance to:

• Wendy Garver, CCPS at 410-751-3139 and
• Chamber of Commerce at 410-876-1023

 A copy of the certificate of insurance must be on file with the Chamber before the student participates in Job Shadow Day.

EMPLOYER GUIDELINES

The following information is provided to help ensure a worthwhile and satisfying job shadow experience for your organization and the participating student. Following these guidelines will help the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce and the Carroll County Public Schools accomplish their Job Shadowing Program objectives. 

Program Essentials: A Job Shadow Employer Host provides the following essential program components:

• Begin the shadowing experience at the start of the workday of the occupation being shadowed, but no later than 9 AM.
• Make full use of the time available for the shadow, for example 9 am to 12:15 or 12:30 pm.
• Assure that the student remains at the work site where they initially report for the duration of the job shadow.  Additional permissions and paperwork will be required if the student will not be at the named site for the duration of the job shadow.  This must be discussed with the student’s Career Coordinator in advance.
• Assure that an Employee Mentor is with the student at all times during the job shadowing experience.
• Arrange for an introduction/orientation session at the beginning of the shadowing experience, which includes a description of the employer’s business, the history and structure of the company/agency, and the various types of work that employees perform.
• Provide a guided tour of the workplace.
• Plan for the student’s observation of specific day-to-day activities of the occupation being shadowed, such as work on the computer and other office equipment, interaction with clients/customers, meetings at the work site, and employee health and safety routines.
• Identify possible hands-on tasks the student can perform as a part of his/her shadowing experience. These tasks should not pose a health or safety threat to the students and should not be a task that normally requires a work permit for a minor to perform (such as food preparation for example). Please discuss these tasks with the Career Connections Coordinator who will contact you before Job Shadow Day.
• End the on-site portion of the shadowing experience in time for the student and Employer Representative to get to the luncheon by 12:45 P.M. (luncheon served at 1 P.M.)
• Designate an Employer Host Representative to sit with the student at special Chamber luncheon that will follow the job shadowing experience.
• Complete the Career Connections “Employer Feedback” sheet and returns it to the Carroll County Public School 125 North Court St., Westminster, MD 21157 to help the program sponsors improve the quality of this event.

CONTACT INFORMATION

 Before the event:

If you have questions about the program, or seek help in preparing for the job shadowing experience, please call the Career Development Coordinator for Carroll County Public Schools, at 410-751-3131, or Peggy Soper at the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce at 410-848-9050. 

 During the event:

If the student assigned to your organization does not report by 10 A.M. on November 13, please telephone the student’s Career Connections Coordinator. The Coordinator will be calling you prior to Job Shadow Day, and will provide his/her telephone number at that time.

If the student becomes ill or is injured during the job shadowing experience, in addition to the appropriate emergency response, please

• call the student’s parent or guardian at a telephone number provided by the Career Connections Coordinator, and if unable to reach the parent/guardian
• contact the school nurse.

Additional Suggestions

 During the job shadow, simply be yourself and allow the student to observe you or others at work.  Set a friendly, accepting tone for the youth and answer the student’s questions in the best way you can. In general, let the interests of the student and activities taking place at the worksite dictate the information provided. The following are some suggestions:

•  Use language your student can understand.
• Ask the student to give you some idea of his or her knowledge base about your field of work.
• Consider structuring the shadow experience around a “Past/Present/Future” theme.

Past:

• Provide the student with a brief history of the business and its role in the community.
• Discuss the types of education necessary to enter your occupation or other occupations in your field of work (on the job training, apprenticeship, trade/technical school, military, 2 or 4 year college, etc.).

Present:

• Talk about what you like and dislike about your work, what you would change if you could, what you find most satisfying, etc.
• Explain and illustrate what you are doing.
• Show the student the importance of your work to the operation of the company/business.
• Explain how the various employees in your business contribute to the overall product or service you provide
• Show the student the connection between success in school and your work.
• Periodically question your student to insure they are absorbing the information you are providing.

Future:

• Discuss the future trends of your field of work such as new technologies, future job outlook, etc.
• At the end of the shadow experience, discuss with the student what they think of the job/career field after now having a close-up look. Have their ideas changed as a result of this experience?

Job Shadow Application

Call Peggy Soper at 410.848.9050 X1 if you have questions