Minnesota Career Development for the 21st Century

The 4th Annual Minnesota Career Development for the 21st Century event for students, veterans and job seekers with disabilities was an opportunity for individuals to gain career exposure and for employers to gain access to a pool of emerging talent. Governor Tim Pawlenty signed a State of Minnesota Proclamation stating that November 8th, 2007 was proclaimed as Disability Mentoring Day. The theme for 2007 was Destination Career Exploration. Attendees were provided passports to map out their itinerary for career exploration and development.

The event is associated with the Disability Mentoring Day program that originated in the White House in 1999 with less than three dozen local students participating. The American Association of People with Disabilities is now the national host for Disability Mentoring Day. The event is a large scale, national effort to promote career development for students and job seekers with disabilities through hands on career exploration, one on one job shadowing, internship and employment opportunities.

Particpation provided excellent marketing and public relations opportunities for employers to promote their businesses, services, products, employment opportunities and to promote disability as a central part of diversity recruitment for a more inclusive workforce. Disability Etiquette training was provided to all employers who were particpating in advance of the event to dispel any myths and fears about hiring people with disabilites and to learn more about the experience of disability.

The event kicked off with an employer breakfast where guests were welcomed to the University of Minnesota by Lisa Todd from Northwest Airlines and David R Johnson, PhD, Associate Dean for Research and Policy --College of Education and Human Development. Guests also heard messages from the speakers for the event - Andrew Imparato, CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities, Jennifer Sheehy Keller, Director of Policy and Planning in the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, US Department of Education, Alan Muir, Executive Director of Career Opportunities for Students with Disabilities at the University of Tennessee, Katherine McCary, USBLN President and Minnesota Representative Torrey Westrom. Brenda Norman, Executive Director for the Minnesota Governors Workforce Development Council read the Governors Proclamation recognizing that Disability Mentoring Day was proclaimed in the State of Minnesota.

Five orientation sessions were held during the day that hosted over 700 students, teachers and job seekers. These sessions introduced attendees to the Minnesota Career Fields and the passports. The State of Minnesota was well represented at the event by public and private employers in the career fields of Agriculture Food and Natural Resources, Arts, Communication and Information Systems, Business Management and Administration, Engineering, Manufacturing and Technologies, Health Science Technology and Human Services.

Attendees were greeted by Northwest Airlines employees who provided them with snack boxes and welcomed them to the Career Destination Exploration event. Kathy Mullarky, Diversity Officer for the Department of Employment and Economic Development talked to the students about the opportunities of the day and encouraged them to explore the different career fields with the employers, participate in breakout sessions that were being offered and take part in mock interviews.

Students listened as Andrew Imparato and Jennifer Sheehy Keller talked about the importance of the day, the opportunity to demonstrate their skills to potential employers, target skills for improvement and understand the connection between work and school. Alan Muir talked with the students about the “Disclosure of Disability Process” and “Preparation: The Key Ingredient to a Successful Career.”

• Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources were represented by Cargill and the US Fish and Wildlife.
• Arts, Communications and Information Systems was represented by the Minneapolis Star and Tribune.
• Business Management and Administration was represented by Accenture, Best Buy, Northwest Airlines and Wells Fargo
• Engineering, Manufacturing and Technologies were represented by 3M, Cummins Power Generation and Medtronic.
• Health Science Technology was represented by Allina Healthcare Systems, Fairview Medical Center and Novartis.

Human Services was represented by the American Association of People with Disabilities, Career Opportunities for Students with Disabilities, City of Saint Paul, Freedom of Speech, Hennepin County, Minnesota Department of Employee Relations, Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, Minnesota State Council on Disability, State Services for the Blind, Social Security Administration, Veterans Affairs, Vocational Rehabilitation and the University of Minnesota Career and Community Learning Center.

This event was made possible by the sponsorship of 3M, Best Buy, Cargill, Medtronic, Northwest Airlines, the Department of Employment and Economic Development, the Governors Workforce Development Council, Pathways to Employment and the dedication of the Event Planning Team.

Thank you to Northwest Airlines, Medtronic and the Business Leadership Provider Network for providing the Disability Etiquette Training to employers.

A special thanks to Andrew Imparato and Marianna Nork from the American Association of People with Disabilities, Alan Muir from Career Opportunities for Students with Disabilities, Jennifer Sheehy Keller from the US Department of Education, Katherine McCary, USBLN President and Zakiya Mabery , USBLN Student Advisory Council for their participation in the career day event.

Thanks to Brenda Norman, Executive Director of the Governors Workforce Development Center and Representative Shelly Madore for the reading of the Governors Proclamation and to Representative Torrey Westrom for speaking to the students and job seekers and for the continuous support for this event.

Event Planning Team

Lisa Todd, Northwest Airlines
Kathy Mullarky, DEED
Julie Jeppesen, DEED
Ann Machaledt, Minnesota Resource Center
Jayne Spain, Minnesota Department of Education
Karen Quammen, Governors Workforce Development Council
John Lukanen, DEED Intern
Michael Newman, State Services for the Blind

In Kind contributions of airfare for keynote speakers, passport design and printing, snack boxes for all attendees, and prizes of round trip airline ticket vouchers were provided generously by Northwest Airlines.

The Minnesota Business Leadership Network wishes to thank all of the volunteers that assisted and were dedicated to the success of this event.