Iowa Work-Based Learning Newsletter
 Contact: Kelli Diemer, Iowa Dept. of Education Work-Based Learning Consultant, kelli.diemer@iowa.gov or 515-281-3615
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The 2017 Iowa Work-Based Learning Guide has been released and is available on the Iowa Department of Education website. The target audience for this guide is school districts although it has general applicability for the different partner organizations involved in work-based learning. By applying the information presented in this guide, school districts should be able to systematically expand work-based learning opportunities and experiences for all students.
 Welcome back to the school year! We hope you are all off to a great start. The Iowa Work Based Learning Executive Committee has been hard at work rolling out the members-only online PLC. This intranet site on Schoology is a central resource to help you build your internship programs. Resources such as training plans, OSHA rules, and the WBL handbook are housed on this site. In addition, there is a monthly discussion forum for collaboration among all work-based learning coordinators on hot topics such as connecting with business partners, writing rock solid training agreements and more. If you joined as a member when registering for our spring 2017 conference, you should have received an email with code to join the group. If you haven’t joined yet, you can still do so for this school year for only $10. Pay by credit card at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/iowa-work-based-learning-membership-2017-18-tickets-37450584707 or email IowaWBL@gmail.com for an invoice. If you log in and post by November 3 to the introduction forum, you will automatically be entered to win a $10 Amazon gift card.
Save the date for Iowa Work Based Learning Conference April 9 and 10, 2018. We are ramping up the breakout sessions, resources, networking opportunities and possible credit for attending. More details to come! Bookmark our website IowaWBL.org or follow us on Twitter @IowaWBL.
IowaWBL Executive Committee
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1. I don’t visit work sites. If employers have issues, they will call me.
Once an employer calls, it is often too late.
2. Orientation to work-based learning for new employers is not necessary.
It is completely necessary as it makes clear the responsibilities of the employer plus gives the coordinator an opportunity to review legal, liability and safety issues.
3. Student enrollment is the only true measurement of a quality work-based learning program.
Enrollment is one of many measurements. Other measurements include meeting program outcomes, student success rate, program evaluation, etc.
4. It is not necessary to know state and federal laws relative to employment practices because my employers know these.
There are different rules for educational work-based learning experiences along with additional requirements.
5. There is no need to update the curriculum. Soft skills are the same.
Soft skills are important; however, so are technical knowledge and skills. Current industry trends are ever-changing so updating curriculum is critical. It is also important to use current training plans with students that should tie learning on the job to learning in the classroom.
6. I do not need to work with the school counselor; I am the only one in my school who works with work-based learning.
Work-based learning experiences should align with student interests. Working closely with the school counselor will keep you abreast of what career interests students have that will be coming into your program and can enable you to find appropriate work-based learning experiences--whether it is internships/co-op, job shadows, or tours and speakers.
7. Training agreements are the same as training plans.
Not even close...but both are critical to an educational work-based learning program.
Training agreements outline the duties and responsibilities of all parties involved in a work-based learning experience: employers, teacher-coordinators, students and parents. While these are not considered legal documents, they are vitally important and should be signed by each party.
Training plans are a written outline of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes the student will or should acquire at the training station (employment). It should be jointly developed by the teacher-coordinator and training station sponsor.
8. Students are not accepted into my program unless they already have a job.
An educational work-based learning program assists students in gaining experiences that lead to a career. If a student already has a job, is this truly the student's career focus?
9. I do not have enough time to make new business connections for potential new work sites.
New business connections and partnerships are an essential part of a work-based learning program. Quality programs involve business partners in multiple ways including speakers, tours, job shadows and internships/co-op experiences. A resource available to all schools is the Iowa Intermediary Network who can assist with setting up a particular experience or making a connection with a certain business.
10. I don’t cover safety in my classes as that is covered on the job.
All work-based learning programs must cover safety. There are educational safety curriculum available from Iowa NIOSH Youth@Work--Talking Safety and US Dept. of Labor YouthRules!. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) also has a separate section on their website for young workers.
Intermittent Work-Based Learning -- If worksite placement is an occasional part of the teacher’s job duties, the worksite component is considered another method of instruction, and the instructor does not need to hold a special or coordinator’s endorsement. However, if a separate credit or portion of a credit is earned by a student for worksite learning components, the teacher must hold special endorsements in those areas.
Work Experience for Credit -- Any teacher may supervise workplace experience courses within his or her own endorsement area(s). For example, a journalism teacher may supervise a newspaper internship where the student is granted journalism credit. Eligible workplace experience courses would be identified through the appropriate School Courses for Exchange of Data (SCED) code(s).
Work Experience – Multiple Occupational Areas If credit is awarded for work experience involving multiple occupations, there must be an assigned teacher at the school who has the multi-occupations (305) certification. The multioccupations certification is considered a CTE endorsement.
Work Experience for Special Education -- For a work experience program designed specifically for students with disabilities, the assigned teacher must hold a 5-12 special education endorsement as well as a work experience Coordinator (WEC) endorsement.
13.28(33) Multioccupations.
a. Completion of any 5-12 endorsement and, in addition thereto, coursework in foundations of career and technical education and coordination of cooperative programs, and work experience which meets one of the following: (1) Four thousand hours of career and technical experience in two or more careers; or (2) One thousand hours of work experience or externships in two or more careers and two or more years of teaching experience at the PK-12 level.
b. The multioccupations endorsement also authorizes the holder to supervise students in cooperative programs, work-based learning programs, and similar programs in which the student is placed in school-sponsored, on-the-job situations.
Statewide Intermediary Network News
For a list regional Intermediary contacts, click here.
Did you know that in FY16, the Iowa Intermediary Network
- arranged 11,559 student internships, job shadows and tours?
- arranged work-based learning activities in ALL 16 career clusters?
- planned for 41,806 students to participate in career fairs, mock interviews, speaker events, etc.?
- arranged for 950 educators to do externships, tours or employer workshops?
The Iowa Intermediary statewide results for FY17 will be out soon.
Kelli Diemer
Business and Marketing Education Consultant
Iowa Intermediary Network/Iowa Work-Based Learning
Bureau of Career and Technical Education
Division of Community Colleges & Workforce Preparation
515-281-3615 (office)5
515-242-5988 (fax)
kelli.diemer@iowa.gov
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