Employers and high school students can struggle to connect on work-based learning opportunities.

The Tulsa Regional Chamber is bent on changing that.

The Chamber’s Workforce and Talent Council convened close to 20 area school district representatives on Wednesday to discuss ways to maximize engagement between schools and businesses in the region.

“We have to, together as a region, make this happen,” said Rue Ramsey, the Chamber’s vice president of workforce and talent strategies. “Employers have to make it happen. You have to make it happen. We’re going to ensure that it happens. We’re going to be the mouthpiece for those stakes.”

The Workforce and Talent Council, which meets twice a year, is a forum that convenes talent management professionals to discuss industry trends, workforce training, legislative issues and talent attraction, acquisition and retention from an economic development perspective.

Ramsey, who guided the discussion held at the Chamber offices, said Tulsa’s nine-county region, which includes more than 53,000 high school students, is woefully lacking in internship opportunities.

The Governor’s Council for Workforce and Economic Development defines work-based learning as a planned, structured learning experience that provides Oklahomans with real-life or simulated work experiences through which they can develop and apply academic, technical and essential skills and that contribute to the achievement of their post-secondary and employment goals.

Examples of work-based learning include internships, apprenticeships, job shadowing and career mentoring.

Dr. Stacey Butterfield, superintendent of Jenks Public Schools, said some companies should broaden their scope when seeking talent.

“There are a lot of employers that see the value of doing this work and beginning to recruit at this level, even as early as eighth grade, but there are still employers, I’m amazed, that still just focus on college students,” she said.

“The research is out there. Students are looking at their career opportunities at a much earlier age now. So, if they (employers) are not looking at opportunities like this, they are missing out.”

Ramsey said her workforce team will take the feedback from Wednesday’s meeting, evaluate it and develop a Chamber-led clearinghouse for linking employers and students interested in work-based learning.

“If we think about this collectively, we can begin to make this a thing because we are going to do the heavy lifting for the company,” she said. “…The more we elevate it, the more companies are going to want to say, ‘How did they do that? I want to do that.’”

To learn more about the Workforce and Talent Council, please contact Rue Ramsey at 918-560-0294.