SIDNEY — The Rotary Club of Sidney hosted Deb McDermott, executive director of WorkForce Partnership of Shelby County, during a recent meeting.

McDermott gave a brief history of WorkForce Partnership and discussed some of the current programs and future goals. The WorkForce Partnership of Shelby County was formed in 2013 and is mostly funded by local businesses and some grants. Local business and manufacturers noticed a lack of employable candidates for job openings. Candidates lacked basic skills, were not drug free and did not understand the concept of showing up for work every day and on time. McDermott said an advisory board was formed comprising both public and business leaders. The goal was to have classes in the high schools to teach soft skills and to provide actual job exposure and job possibilities within the Shelby County community.

McDermott talked about some of the class presentations, which include business and manufacturing representatives’ speaking about jobs within their companies, students’ researching job positions, hands-on experience and field trips to potential job creators. The annual Career Day at the Shelby County Fairgrounds for students in grades eight through 12 has numerous companies displaying and describing the work that they do, including actual opportunities for students to do the jobs, such as laying brick or testing their computer skills. There are also classes teaching soft skills, which would include team work sessions, communication skills which might include the simple hand shake and human resource information and processes to apply for a job. The WorkForce Partnership has a mobile lab that visits all the high schools. The mobile lab is an AirStream trailer that provides audio and visual applications of potential jobs within Shelby County.

McDermott said that WorkForce Partnership plans to expand to the middle school grade levels, presenting soft skills and career exploration. Internships, job shadowing and work experience are some of the goals for high school students, and a hiring expo is planned for April at Sidney High School. Rhoades State is participating at Sidney High School so that students may able to earn college credit within the framework of current curriculum offerings. McDermott concluded that the WorkForce Partnership is seeing positive results and the potential job outlook for students is a positive one.