A handful of Putnam County students are not in school today. Instead, they are in Terre Haute.

Students from two Putnam County schools, North Putnam High School and Cloverdale High School are attending the Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) Regional Career Development Conference in the auditorium of Ivy Tech Community College in Terre Haute.

This conference offers more than 200 JAG students the opportunity to step outside their day-to-day school routine and display the skills they are learning in the JAG classroom.

A wide variety of business and education leaders will serve as judges in the nine completion areas. Students have to opportunity to meet the judges one-on-one and win awards. Regional first place winners go on to compete at the State JAG Career Development Conference held in March.

Employers want to hire young workers with both the hard skills and soft skills needed for today’s record number of job openings. The Jobs for America’s Graduates competition allows students and soon-to-be jobseekers show what they’ve learned. JAG is a national workforce skills readiness program for high school students. It focuses on the importance of earning a high school diploma and gaining skills like include problem solving, leadership, job seeking, team building, and academic skills; all necessary to complete post-secondary training and success in today’s job market.

The JAG career development conference provides a unique opportunity for our students to gain firsthand experience that will help them now and after graduation,” said North Putnam High School Principal Jason Chew. “They will spend the day at Ivy Tech competing against students from eight other schools while receiving valuable feedback in events such as public speaking, career presentation, digital design, professional writing, and employability skills. Five of our students will also pitch their business plan ideas to a panel of judges in the entrepreneurship event which is similar to the TV show Shark Tank.” 

In its sixth year, the Cloverdale JAG program has maintained high enrollment numbers. In addition to job training, Cloverdale JAG students have participated in a number of community service endeavors, including an anti-bullying campaign and a fundraising campaign to honor a classmate who died in a car accident. Students will work at the upcoming Putnam County Chamber of Commerce dinner later this month.

“Cloverdale High School is proud to be a part of the JAG program,” said Principal H. Sonny Stoltz. “The program has had many students take advantage of the work experience program and in many of the job placements, the students have been offered permanent positions with the employer.” 

More than 135 JAG programs operate in Indiana. In the Wabash Valley, thanks to the support and cooperation of local school administrations and the Western Indiana Workforce Development Board, JAG programs operate at Northview High School in Brazil, Riverton Parke Junior/Senior High School in Montezuma, West Vigo High School in Terre Haute, North Putnam High School in Roachdale, Sullivan High School in Sullivan, Terre Haute North Vigo High School, Terre Haute South Vigo High School, Cloverdale High School and Parke Heritage High School in Rockville.

The day of JAG competition is sponsored by Ivy Tech Terre Haute, Duke Energy, and the Workforce Indiana Workforce Development Board.

For more information about Jobs for JAG, please visit http://www.jag.org