Trumbull County expands career navigation to connect students with regional employers

Schools often struggle to provide a broad menu of career exploration and hands-on experiences on their own. TCESC's career navigators act as intermediaries between districts and regional employers, higher education, training providers and community organizations. The goal is a coordinated system that starts with early career awareness and leads to tangible opportunities by graduation.

Career navigators collaborate with district administrators, counselors, teachers, students and families to identify gaps and build pathways. They help districts develop access to credentials, work-based learning, pre-apprenticeships and direct connections to employers that might be difficult for a single school to arrange independently.

Example: Excellence Training Center partnership

TCESC used a recent partnership with Youngstown State University's Excellence Training Center as a practical example of how navigators connect districts with regional training resources. Career navigator Skyler O'Donnell organized tours for district teams to see the facility's advanced equipment and hands-on learning spaces. Jackie Ruller, director of the Excellence Training Center, led educators through training areas in advanced manufacturing, automation, robotics and information technology.

Districts learned about pre-apprenticeship opportunities, including programs related to information technology and unmanned aircraft systems (drones). O'Donnell said the tours were intended to give district teams firsthand exposure so they could consider how to connect students with those programs.

TCESC will continue to coordinate with participating districts and regional partners to scale career-connected learning. The immediate priorities described in the program narrative are expanding access to hands-on training, identifying pre-apprenticeship and credential opportunities, and increasing direct links between students and employers in high-demand fields within the region.

Implications for districts and students

Districts gain an organized route to regional training assets and employer partnerships without having to build and staff every program themselves. Students gain exposure to training and career options that include advanced manufacturing, automation, robotics, IT and emerging fields such as unmanned aircraft systems, potentially paired with credentialing and workplace experiences.

A photo accompanying the story shows Steve Beshara, Skyler O'Donnell and Jake Kakavros, representing the new staffing and leadership of TCESC's Workforce Development and Career Pathways Department.