Westminster, MD, Monday, July 22, 2024 – Recently, members of the Carroll County Department of Economic Development’s workforce development team joined Carroll County Public School (CCPS) representatives in Nashville, Tennessee at the national 2024 Southern Regional Education Board: Making Schools Work Conference. Carroll County Workforce Development’s (CCWD) Heather Powell and Stan Whiteman, along with CCPS’ Angie McCauslin and Bill Eckles, co-presented “Leveraging Community Partners for High-Impact Career Counseling,” a successful program resulting from an effective and strong partnership between CCWD and CCPS. This collaboration is a key component of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future.

The presentation highlighted ways to develop a collaborative career counseling program integral to the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future.  The partnership supports College and Career Readiness (CCR), one of the five pillars in the Blueprint, that integrates local Workforce Development Boards with Maryland’s public school system to prepare graduates for success in college and the workforce. The team presented the planning and success of the Carroll County Local Workforce Development Board and CCPS partnership to implement a career counseling program for grades 6-12.

With decades of experience collaborating with local businesses, colleges, and training sites, CCWD is a vital liaison between these resources, CCPS, and students. The partnership helps prepare graduating students to enter the workforce, pursue higher education, or join the military.  “We are fortunate, in Carroll, to have a strong working relationship between CCWD and CCPS,” said Workforce Development Manager Heather Powell. “We are deeply committed to helping students envision a future where they live and work in their community and staff are excited and inspired to collaborate with our school system, working toward positive outcomes for our youth.”

“It was an honor to have our outstanding program recognized at this national conference, and we were thrilled to share more details with the education audience,” said Denise Beaver, Director of the Department of Economic Development. “Workforce development is a crucial component of the county’s economic development strategies, and this critical partnership helps establish and build our local workforce, starting with middle school students.”

Carroll County Workforce Development (CCWD) is an office of the Carroll County Department of Economic Development. CCWD administers the Workforce Innovation & Opportunity Act in collaboration with the Carroll County Workforce Development Board and is dedicated to employment, training, and workforce development. It is part of America’s Job Center Network and offers services Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information, please call 410-386-2820 or visit the website at www.carrollworks.com.

Carroll County Workforce Development operations and programming are supported by federal, state, and local resources. The federal funding for Program Year 2023 is $2,731,860.75. This represents 74.50% of available funds.