Monthly Archives: November 2015

Eleven Ways to Explore Career Development with Students

Idaho Department of Labor Student photo

Students become career ready with hands-one learning experiences

November may have been “National Career Awareness Month,” but every month is career development month for  Idaho teachers  who integrate  career development daily :

Hosting Virtual Field Trips. Using innovative technologies, Stephani Childress, regional coordinator with Advanced Opportunities in Post Falls engages students in virtual field trips to colleges and universities. Students come to class before school starts, connect online and learn about colleges and post-secondary schools across the country.

Creating a Continuous “Go On” Culture. Cory Fortin and Parma High School are creating a continuous “go on” culture. Morning announcements are leveraged by congratulating students when they are accepted to a college or post-secondary training institution. Teachers dress in college attire, decorate classroom doors based on their alma-mater and students vote for their favorite. Extra credit is earned for dressing in interview clothing on test day. Every class must do a career development activity of their choice. Even the band teacher gets into the act and brings in professional musicians.

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Idaho Civil Rights Investigator Honored for Accomplishments in Preventing Bullying, Suicide

Carmen Stanger, center, was recently honored with Idaho’s Hometown Hero Medal.

Carmen Stanger, center, was recently honored with Idaho’s Hometown Hero Medal.

Carmen Stanger, an investigator with the Idaho Commission on Human Rights, was honored with a 2015 Idaho’s Hometown Hero Medal in October for her inspired work in preventing bullying and suicide.

“I got involved in bully prevention when my 15-year-old daughter, Maddie, passed away from suicide on Feb. 18, 2014, due to depression related to the effects of the bullying she suffered in school,” Stanger said. “My work is two-fold. It focuses on bully prevention and suicide prevention throughout the entire state of Idaho.”

Stanger was recognized for her work and particularly for being instrumental in helping pass the anti-bullying bill HB246, signed into law on April 6, 2015.

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Tapping the Power of Idaho’s Wage and Occupation Data

Occupational wages are one of the most useful and sought after data elements provided by the Idaho Department of Labor. Whether someone is exploring careers, preparing for wage negotiations or researching the competitiveness of a company’s wage against the market, wage information is readily available on more than 750 Idaho occupations and 800 nationally.

Several websites offer varying types of wage data, but the source that is the most encompassing – including data for the U.S., the 50 states, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Washington, D.C. – is the Occupational Employment Statistics program on the Bureau of Labor Statistics website at www.bls.gov.oes. Each state and territory publishes this data on their own labor market information websites. For example, lmi.idaho.gov is the primary online source for Idaho-specific data.

Comparing median wage data for each area of the state is a good place to start. A median wage is the point where 50 percent of workers make more and 50 percent make less. Using welders as an example, the median wage in the Boise metropolitan area is $14.72 per hour, about 11 percent lower than the state’s median of $16.44, as shown in Table 1. By city, Idaho Falls offers the highest median wage at $19.61 per hour – 19 percent above the state’s median wage and 33 percent above Boise’s.

table 1_OES

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Apprenticeships Benefit Idaho Job Seekers, Businesses and Communities

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Apprenticeships and training for Idaho’s power and energy industry are on the rise.

Troy Butler, a field service leader with Idaho Power, directly attributes his career success to the five-year apprenticeship program he completed with Idaho Power.

“If I didn’t have the apprenticeship, I wouldn’t have become a lineman, and if I didn’t become a lineman there is no way I would have been able to become a foreman to run my own crew,” he said. “Gaining that leadership experience running my own crew gave me the tools to take over and move up to this middle management job.”

Businesses throughout Idaho, the United States and around the world are utilizing the “earn and learn” approach of apprenticeship programs. Apprenticeships combine work-based learning with related classroom instruction and are supervised by industry specialists.

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Around Idaho: October Economic Activity

Information provided in this article has been gathered from various sources throughout the state, including professional sources, news releases, weekly and daily newspapers, television and other media.

Northern Idaho
North Central Idaho
Southwestern Idaho
South Central Idaho
Southeastern
Eastern Idaho

NORTHERN IDAHO – Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Kootenai & Shoshone counties

Kootenai County

  • Mountain Crest Development LLC plans to cut trees and begin laying road on its Canfield Mountain properties. While it is not clear at this time what plans are for the 96 acre parcels, Mountain Crest has previously sought to build a new housing development on the mountain. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press
  • The criminal justice infrastructure in Kootenai County may be expanding in two individual initiatives. The Kootenai County jail is overcrowded, and the Board of County Commissioners has begun a study to determine if jail expansion would be warranted. In a separate effort, the Post Falls Police Department has proposed creating a new substation on the west side of the city. The substation would ostensibly increase the efficiency of distributing police presence around Post Falls. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press

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