A Washington County Career Center program was working last week toward meeting the needs of its students with the Building Bridges to Careers Community and Business advisory council meeting themed “Meeting in the Middle: Investing in our future talent.”

The idea is to work toward having schools, industry and communities work together to support local talent — and to meet local needs.

“Tonight is about thinking about the investment we see in our talent ecosystem – being future talent, our students,” said Emily Bentley, education engagement specialist with BB2C. “We’re unpacking the word ‘invest’, because we’re not just talking about dollars. We’re also talking about the other ways we give back to our community and uplift our kids.”

Workforce development doesn’t have to wait. It can begin as early as elementary school, as Morgan West Elementary School third-grade teacher Haley Jordan reminded us. Her students work with Triple Nickel Diner to explore ways the business could increase revenue during slower periods.

“I was really shocked by my students who specifically struggle academically but getting a hands-on project and seeing how they flourish with it,” she said.

(That’s also a reminder that there is not a one-size-fits-all solution to student success.)

“We recognize that we cannot all do this by ourselves,” Bentley said. “Opportunities like this allow us to come together across industries and talk about what the needs actually are and how we work together to address them.”

What a wonderful chance for stakeholders from across the spectrum to develop grassroots strategies for supporting our workforce AND our industries.