SUMMER 2008

Pirates, Stanley Cup-Contender Penguins Score with Career Ed
Behind Every Professional Sports Team is a Team of Professionals

The Pittsburgh Pirates and the Penguins - both members of the Pittsburgh Regional Compact - recently connected with young people, as part of the annual “The Future is Mine Student Leadership Conference,” to help make them aware of the variety of employment opportunities their organizations offer.

The sports industry is huge, and organizations the size and scope of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Penguins - our region's leading professional sports teams - depend on sizeable and efficient workforces, representing diverse jobs and careers, to deliver their product: professional sports entertainment.

The presence of professional sports teams in Pittsburgh translates to hundreds of jobs for those who won't be employed as professional athletes but who enjoy the thrill of being close to the action and want to deliver a great experience to fans.

Successful and satisfying sports entertainment also delivers - in terms of dollars - to the robustness of the regional economy. Merchants, hotels, restaurants and bars and transportation - to name a few - benefit. All around, professional sports are undeniably important to the Pittsburgh region.

"We are thrilled not only because both the Pirates and the Penguins see the value of the Compact and have joined as members, but that these organizations are reaching out to the region's youth about employment possibilities. It's important for young people to realize the kinds of highly diversified workforces required by professional sports teams. There are jobs and careers to be had - skilled and unskilled - in marketing and sales, advertising and promotion, hospitality, maintenance and stadium upkeep, information technology, security and much more," said Paul Leger, senior vice president, workforce quality program, at the Allegheny Conference. "An employment reality check about professional sports careers can help youth to understand that while they may not get to play on the team, they can play a part - through interesting jobs or careers - and help the team be successful.' That realization, coupled with honing in on students' academic strengths and professional interests and the appropriate higher education or other training typically paves the way for satisfying careers."

The Pittsburgh Pirates provided career exploration visits to PNC Park to nearly two dozen students from the City of Pittsburgh and from the Pittsburgh region. At PNC Park, the operations hub of the Pirates, students toured a variety of departments – security and concessions, field maintenance, promotions, media relations – and heard from professionals working in those departments. Students also interacted with Pirates Team President Frank Coonelly, who described his journey from sports-loving student to law student to Senior Vice President and General Counsel in the Baseball Commissioner’s office to president of the Pirates. Coonelly answered questions from students about the education and experience that qualified him for his current job. He advised students interested in a career with a professional sports organization to “take a traditional course of study … a liberal arts education is a wonderful thing.” Coonelly explained that this approach “makes you a valuable commodity to a professional sports employer because you have the skill sets needed by the Pirates and other sports organizations – strong skills in reading, writing, and critical thinking.”

Students reported that they enjoyed the introduction to career possibilities at the Pirates. One young man said that he loves sports and would like to a professional ball player, but if he can’t do that, then maybe he’d like to consider a job in ball park security. “I’d like work that keeps things under control … making sure that all the fans have a good experience.” Another student thought that the classes he’s currently taking, and enjoying, in visual arts might encourage him to think about a job in multimedia and promotions for a sports team.

Choosing a different approach, but achieving the same outcome, the Penguins recently took a career exploration show, featuring the professional staff members that help the organization run smoothly, on the road to two Pittsburgh Public Schools— the Sterrett Classical Academy and Rogers Middle School for the Creative and Performing Arts.

Between both schools, approximately 125 students viewed a video presentation featuring staff from marketing, sales, customer relations, graphic design and accounting. These professionals shared their educational background and details about the work that they do to support the on-ice talent. The video presentation was followed by an open discussion, led by Ron Porter of the Penguins, to help students recognize the connection between their current learning and the value of being an educated adult. This value includes the ability to secure meaningful employment and to contribute to a corporation’s or organization’s success.

“I focus a lot on the importance of mastering basic skills—math, reading and communications,” said Porter. “These are skills that successful people hold in common. In addition, there are softer skills that students to need practice and polish now—team work and the ability to work with diverse individuals and to overcome differences.

“The path to success is much harder for students who haven’t mastered the basics. I want the kids to understand—from an employer’s perspective—that the job market today is highly competitive. An individual gets hired and is paid by virtue of the skills he or she has. Solid basic skills, such as reading, math and communications, are a good foundation. Beyond that, a college degree or technical school training adds value and helps make a candidate attractive to an employer,” said Porter.

Regional Employers, Educators Bring Career Education Ideas to the
[Breakfast] Table

More than 100 employers and educators who are members of the Pittsburgh Regional Compact - or who are considering becoming members - came together for an Employer/Educator Career Education Breakfast - sponsored by the Allegheny Conference on Community Development on Tuesday, April 22 at the Sheraton Station Square. The breakfast was a part of the second annual Imagine! Career Week, a coordinated series of events that focused on preparing the region's youth for 21st-century careers.

Employers and educators don’t often have regular interaction, and the Compact breakfast encouraged dialogue between the two. Several connections made by Compact member employers with local schools and students for real-world career education were showcased and breakfast guests were engaged in identifying further opportunities for businesses and schools to collaborate to prepare students for our region's workplaces.

The Pittsburgh Regional Compact was launched last November by the Allegheny Conference in response to the concerns of regional employers who say that they cannot find enough skilled and qualified employees to fill their jobs and students who feel that they cannot find jobs in the Pittsburgh region. The Compact seeks to bridge that gap and build the region’s workforce by building careers for our students. Through the Pittsburgh Regional Compact, employers and educators are currently working in partnerships that will make students aware of the jobs that are available here and to teach them what they need to do to secure those jobs. New Compact members can join at any time.

“Today’s breakfast brings to the table critical regional sectors which have the potential to positively impact Pittsburgh’s future - with an opportunity to learn from each other about 21st-century career education,” said Allegheny Conference Executive Vice President Kathryn Klaber in welcoming remarks. “Even as we celebrate our region’s 250th anniversary, it’s critical to think beyond the celebrations to the region’s next 250 years and what we need to do now to ensure that our next milestone anniversary has equally wonderful successes to celebrate. Put another way, the Pittsburgh Regional Compact is an initiative that our region can’t do without. Without the Compact, our economic vitality may be at stake. With the Compact, the Pittsburgh region stands to be held as a national leader in workforce preparation.”

Presenting on successful career education connections already in place were Marcie Eberhart from the AE Foundation, Mark Dillon from American Eagle Outfitters, Inc., Stormy Wolfe from the Federal Home Loan Bank, Sally Mizerak of Performance Drivers, and Scott Dietz from Catalyst Connection.

Breakfast attendees then engaged in facilitated discussions at their tables and in a general discussion of workforce issues in an open session. Seating arrangements guaranteed a mix of employers and educators at each table, and each table was assigned a facilitator who helped guests work through questions such as, “What barriers need to be removed to make employer/educator projects work more effectively?”

Use this link to view a compilation of all the responses prepared by Allegheny Conference staff. (PDF file)

Guests, overall, provided favorable reviews of the career education breakfast and pointed to the give-and-take of information as valuable. A number of attendees felt that this was an excellent way to make one-on-one connections between employers and educators who would otherwise not have met. The breakfast showed employers examples of successful Compact activities and allowed them to make concrete plans for new activities of their own.

“I applaud the Compact for organizing the April 22 meeting and successfully attracting so many interested parties and stakeholders to share ideas on better matching high school students to the regional employment needs. There were many attendees like me who are new to this challenging situation, but it was clear that many experienced and high-ranking professionals from the schools, organizations and employers are engaged. I am excited about contributing to this initiative - excited as an employer, as a parent and as a resident of the Pittsburgh region - and I look forward to the next steps,” said Keith Cameron, executive director at the law firm Houston Harbaugh, one of the Compact’s employer members.

Easier Than You'd Imagine! - Tips for Successful Career Awareness Events

Patty Paytas, who coordinated the career education visits by students to PNC Park, offered some post-visit thoughts on what was successful and what can be done to enhance future visits.

What did you do to create success?
“To prepare for the students’ visit, we identified departments we thought would interest the students - groundskeeping and in-game entertainment, for example. We wanted to provide students with a broader awareness of the various disciplines that comprise a professional sports franchise and to acquaint them with a variety of employees with different backgrounds. We also had a mix of city and suburban school students participate, which resulted in an even more dynamic event.”

How would you improve on your success?
“We hosted two groups of students, and one group – a result of transportation troubles – was about an hour late. Because of this, they didn’t have the full experience that was planned for them. In the future, I will make certain that we plan time at the beginning of the event to provide a basic overview of the organization. This will ensure that all students have a better understanding of how each individual speaker they hear from fits into the organization at large.”

What makes the effort worthwhile?
“Anytime that we, as an employer, can provide assistance to students – such as through career education – it is worthwhile. We judge success by the expressions on the students’ faces when they leave the ballpark. If we’ve done a good job, it shows!”

In Brief:

• Acquaint students with a variety of employees from different departments and with different backgrounds. This keeps students engaged.

• If possible, mix city and suburban school students to create an even more dynamic event.

• Provide an initial overview of the organization at the start. This helps students understand how each presenter fits into the organization.

• Judge success by the expressions on students’ faces.

The Quaker Valley School District, which recently joined the Pittsburgh Regional Compact to help build the workforce and build careers, published the following brief in its April newsletter:

Quaker Valley School District is proud to join the Pittsburgh Regional Compact, an initiative of the Allegheny Conference, in an employer-educator partnership to develop the regional workforce for 21st-century jobs and careers.

Regional employers are joining as Compact partners to provide classroom speakers, workplace tours, job shadowing, career mentoring, graduation project advising and internships. Through the collaboration between Compact partners and the participating districts, students will have the opportunity to benefit from coordinated curriculum based on regional employer's needs.

The projected outcomes include not only having students experience career based curriculum relevant to specific job opportunities but also for employers to take an active role in ensuring a prepared workforce with skills needed for their businesses and regional careers.

"This compact fits our high school reform (Project 720) goals of providing rigor, relevancy and quality relationships for our students. The compact also supports our Keys 2 Work curriculum," said Joseph H. Clapper, D.Ed. "This is a win-win for both businesses and schools. Our schools want their students to be employable and the businesses are seeking potential employees who are genuinely prepared to join the workforce.”

The Pittsburgh Regional Compact’s Web Site is Sporting a New Look

The original site, launched last November when the Compact premiered, was initially a tool to explain the concept of the Compact. Now that the Compact is some 130 members strong – and growing – there is new information to showcase.

While members and potential members can still find the information they need – the Compact membership form, career education activity suggestions and a list of current members – they can now also find a variety of resources on the revamped site (Select the "Library" button when visiting the site). Resources include archives of the Pittsburgh Regional Compact Quarterly newsletter, upcoming events, news on other members’ successful activities and reports and resources. There’s even a video component, currently showcasing one regional employer’s workplace visit.

In coming months, Allegheny Conference staff will explore additional ways to maximize www.pittsburghregionalcompact.org as a virtual one-stop shop for employers and educators engaged in the Compact to build the workforce and build careers. If you have resources that you believe would be valuable to share with other Compact members via the website, or if you have a video presentation that we can showcase, in part, on the new site, we’d like to hear from you. Contact Will Bernstein at 412-392-1033 or by e-mail at wbernstein@alleghenyconference.org. Your ideas for stories, particularly those describing innovative and successful career education underway, would also be welcomed.

The Pittsburgh Regional Compact is an employer-driven initiative collaboratively
sponsored by the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, business
leaders, educators, students, educational institutions and workforce development
organizations across the 10-county Pittsburgh region.