Fontana youth can soon network with local businesses and expand their career opportunities with Pathfinder Day from 9 a.m. to noon on Wednesday, Oct. 30.
Pathfinder Day represents a partnership between the youth career development organization, Tomorrow’s Talent, and the city — as well as its chamber of commerce — to provide student “micro-internships,” covering facets like city governance and information technology. The free event will be at the Fontana Chamber of Commerce, 8491 Sierra Avenue.
“This initiative came about through the Fontana Mayor’s Education Coalition,” said Mariann Johnson, vice president of higher education and employer services for Tomorrow’s Talent. “The city of Fontana used some grant funding in order to have us put together Pathfinder Day, which shows students in Fontana what good local jobs are all about and what local jobs exist in and around the city. This is going to be our first one in Fontana.”
The education coalition is an initiative that provides career pathway opportunities to high school students throughout the city.
“Besides working with the city in this capacity, we also work with Fontana Unified School District to connect their students with different work-based learning opportunities,” Johnson said. “For example, a teacher who teaches one of their career pathway programs would reach out to us and we would help find an employer for the students to go visit.
“This allows students to work on real-life problem-solving, talk to mentors or participate in a career fair. It’s a variety of activities. Pathfinder Day is a little bit different because the students can interact with many different employers and get to do some sort of hands-on activities. So, instead of just an industry tour, they get to do something that they’ve been learning in class and apply it in the real world.”
With Pathfinder Day, students can experience short-term professional environments, gain industry insights, work on real-world projects and connect with potential employers. These “micro-internships” last anywhere from four to five hours. Tomorrow’s Talent will provide meals and guide students through the whole process.
Some attending businesses, institutions and organizations for Pathfinder Day include The Spot Apprentice Academy, Arts Connection, Nu Grace Family Care, Stage Red, California University of Science and Medicine, CCS Interactive and Ayala Financial Services. Johnson said that groups looking to participate in Pathfinder Days can contact her for registration. The next Pathfinder Day is on Sunday, Feb. 27.
Aside from the Chamber of Commerce, Johnson said that the city will host multiple locations where students can network with employers on Oct. 30.
“The Community Services Department for the city of Fontana has three different activities going at the Mary Vagle Nature Center,” Johnson said.
“One of the activities will go over the Community Services Department. It will be an activity where students can learn about what a marketing campaign would look like. The city also has student activities at the Don Day Neighborhood Center. They want to make sure Pathfinder Day is open to all students who live in the city that are around high school and above.”
Johnson said that Pathfinder Day is curated to maximize student opportunities to engage directly with employers.
“My favorite thing when we do events like this is when students learn about jobs that they didn’t even know existed,” Johnson said. “I can’t wait for the students to get to see what’s right there in their backyard that they probably didn’t even know was there. From what we’ve seen, some of the employers are looking for part-time help, too. So, this is a great way for them to see a selection of students, which we’ll send out in small groups — usually around eight to 10 — so the employers can get a feel for which students might be a good fit for them. Maybe someone will get a job out of it. That’d be ideal.”