Teens in local schools will participate in an innovative career exploration next week to start to figure out their futures.

This career exploration is based on actual workforce conditions in the local job market.

The SCKLaunch Experience program will be Nov. 9-10 in Warren County at the NCM Motorsports Park.

About 1,600 students will participate, according to Ron Bunch, president and chief executive officer at the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce. That’s all the eighth-graders in Warren County Public Schools and eighth- and ninth-graders from the Bowling Green Independent School District. 

The program will expand to surrounding counties next year. Bunch said the program is at the motor sports park because it is the largest space available to house all the students, exhibits and career representatives who are all part of the new program.

Large equipment used in construction work will be on display for students. The students will have the opportunity to hear from men and women who work in the careers that they are exploring.

Bunch said career exploration in Kentucky public schools was previously driven by the ACT Explorer test and guidance counselors in the schools. SCKLaunch is an attempt to bring more resources and more people to the education process as the eighth- and ninth-graders consider future careers.

“I think it’s going to be a great opportunity for eighth-graders to learn about careers in Bowling Green that they may have never known existed,” said Jason Kupchella, Warren County Public Schools chief academic officer.

The city district is taking nearly 700 students to the program, according to city schools Superintendent Gary Fields. The ninth-graders are being included because they are part of a new program, the LEAD Academy at Bowling Green High School.

Fields said the SCKLaunch is a great opportunity for those students.

“This is a great idea for the kids in the eighth and ninth grades,” Fields said. “They can see how it all fits together.”

Students have been working in a classroom curriculum designed by the chamber team on careers and opportunities in local job sectors. The program builds on “The Leader in Me” and FranklinCovey’s “7 Habits” for which the chamber raised $1.4 million to sustain in recent years – bringing The Leader in Me to both the county and the city school districts.

The Leader in Me initiatives are also found in schools in Simpson and Barren counties.

“The Leader in Me looked at building a foundation on character. This will build on the job sector experience, involving students and also their parents,” Bunch said.

“We are reaching the kids earlier” in the career exploration process, he said.

Fields said children who embraced The Leader in Me skills now have an opportunity to see the next step and ask the important questions.

“Where do I project myself (being) in four years, in eight years?” Fields said “How can I prepare myself academically to do that?”

Kupchella said a student introduced to a new possible career at SCKLaunch could end up on a career path that he or she never anticipated.

Bunch said seven employment sectors identified by the chamber are based on recently obtained data.

It presents students information about the top 10 jobs within each sector, characterized as “high demand” positions.

For example, the construction careers sheet shows a student can progress from a construction laborer, paid about $29,600 annually, to a general and operations manager holding a bachelor’s degree earning about $81,900 annually.

The information also identifies career pathways from middle school to high school, showing how a student progresses from obtaining a high school diploma, technical and on-the-job training, an associate degree to a bachelor’s degree.

In health care, one of the top employment sectors in the region, a student can proceed from personal care/home health aide, paid $20,000 annually, to a physician or surgeon who earns $233,000 and holds a medical degree.

Other sectors identified by the chamber for the students to explore are hospitality and tourism; professional services; manufacturing; government and public service; and transportation.

Bunch said the curriculum developed by the chamber team will be donated to local school districts for future implementation.

SCKLaunch will also include externships for local students and cooperative ventures between businesses and education.

The extensive curriculum was developed as a possible national model, and Bunch said the chamber will sell it to other areas of Kentucky and the nation, with the proceeds donated back to help finance the local education programs.

— For more information, visit http://scklaunch.com.

— Follow business reporter Charles A. Mason on Twitter @BGDNbusiness or visit bgdailynews.com.