LYNNFIELD — Unsure about her future after high school, Marblehead’s Devin Kim said two opportunities helped set a course for success.
Kim enrolled in the Cooperative Education Program at Essex North Shore Agricultural and Technical School in Danvers and that opportunity led to a job with RN Esthetics in Lynnfield.
She is currently a senior cosmetology student with a career path marked out for her.
The Cooperative Education Program gives students opportunities to test-drive potential careers and earn real-world work experience, according to Essex Tech.
“I was not 100 percent sure the pathway I wanted to take after high school and how I was going to get there but with the help of my work and getting some hands-on experience it has helped guide me the right way,” Kim said.
Cooperative Education places students with employers through internships or cooperative work opportunities.
Essex Tech Superintendent Heidi Riccio said the school is highlighting Cooperative Education to celebrate February’s status as National Career and Technical Education (CTE) Month.
Cooperative Education is open to Essex Tech juniors and seniors with 150 seniors and 35 juniors currently enrolled.
Employer placements include GE Aviation, Mercedes of Beverly, Jaguar and Land Rover of Peabody, Mini of Peabody and the Massachusetts Audubon Society. Placement can last anywhere from a few months for internships to more than a year for co-ops.
“I’m incredibly proud of all the students here at Essex Tech and their ability to implement what they learn in the classroom in the real world,” Riccio said. “We love being able to offer students these opportunities and are grateful for the businesses that partner with us to give students a leg-up when they enter the workforce.”
Businesses appreciate opportunities to give students work experience and evaluate them as potential hires.
“We are thankful to be part of Essex Tech’s co-op plumbing program,” said Jeff Beane, Vice President at Breen and Sullivan Mechanical Services. “It’s pretty obvious that a strong base is being built by the Essex Tech staff.”
“It gives them the opportunity to figure out if this is a field they want to work in. It just opens their eyes to the possible career paths they can choose that they would have never been able to know about or experience,” Cooperative Education Coordinator Lisa Berube said.
Devin Kim, of Marblehead, is a senior cosmetology student working at RN Esthetics in Lynnfield as part of Cooperative Education Program at Essex Tech. (Photo courtesy of Essex Tech)
Thor Jourgensen can be reached at [email protected].
