Ivy Tech Now Offering Career Coaching and Employer Connections

Ivy Tech Community College Evansville announced a new division aimed at helping prepare students and meeting employer workforce needs today (Jan. 19) at Evansville’s Rotary Club meeting. Career Coaching and Employer Connections (CCEC), will bring together career development and employer outreach to meet the needs of the workforce.

Created with students in mind, CCEC creates a cohesive model for student and employer engagement. This new, more strategic approach will emphasize comprehensive career readiness practices alongside academic preparation throughout a student’s college experience.

“We want to be where students of all ages can launch their career, as well as be the number one resource for employers to seek top talent,” said Ivy Tech Evansville Chancellor Daniela Vidal. “We provide custom training to meet the demands of companies looking to skill-up current employees so people can thrive in their career. We look forward to CCEC expanding those opportunities.”

Vic Chamness, executive director of the CCEC, said the college partnered with Ascend Indiana and studied what gaps there were that could be improved upon, ultimately resulting in the creation of this unique model.  The local impact will be strategic with partnered efforts through Evansville’s Talent 2025 initiative.

Chamness said the plan is to kick off the student portion of the initiative beginning in March, with a full implementation by fall of 2021.

Students that participate in this program will have a variety of opportunities, including:

• Creation of a Career Development Portfolio: students will create and showcase to employers a resume, cover letter, LinkedIn profile, work and learn experiences, and the professional network and connections they have built with support from their CCEC team.
• Career Coaching: focused, one-to-one relationship to help the student determine the right steps for their career path that match their values, interests, personality and skills.
• Work and Learn: opportunity to build relationships with employers and gain direct experience in careers that interest the student, such as working alongside professionals in a tech company, or assisting on a Human Resources team in a healthcare organization.

Career Coaching and Employer Connections also benefit employers by helping them find top talent for their workforce needs and/or skill-up current employees with custom training. By closely aligning the student experience and employer needs, CCEC will meet the specific skills and training needs of employers in Indiana and neighboring states.

“As the Community College for Southwest Indiana, we are aligning more staff, programs and resources to the needs of our local workforce” Chamness said. “Ultimately, through CCEC, we will empower our students to make informed decisions about their future while creating strong connections with employers and for transfer opportunities.”

Ivy Tech has received support to establish this program from several other organizations that include: Lilly Endowment, Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation, Central Indiana Community Foundation, Glick Fund, Indiana Commission for Higher Education, Garatoni-Smith Family Foundation, JPMorgan Chase Foundation, and Salesforce.

The College rolled out the CCEC model statewide through a phased approach. The first phase began in the fall of 2019 at the following six campuses: Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, South Bend/Elkhart, Kokomo, Sellersburg, and Madison. The second phase includes Evansville, Valparaiso, Richmond and Lawrenceburg/Batesville locations.

For questions or more information, visit IvyTech.edu/evansville/ccec or contact Vic Chamness, executive director of the Ivy Tech Evansville CCEC, at vchamness@ivytech.edu.