C.R.E.W. program helps students navigate the workplace
MARYLAND – Students are earning salaries. Summer camps can range from physical activity to academic clubs, but, what if there was a program where students learned social skills?
C.R.E.W. is the Career Research, Education and Work Program and the purpose is to prepare students for the world. Not only are they learning social skills, but they are getting life lessons to help them with everyday interactions in the workplace. Many employers expect students to know what to do in the workplace, but they just don’t, and this program gives them the tools, says Alison Cornish, Summer C.R.E.W. Instructor.
She says, “The reality of is that some skills can’t be taught in a book, you have to experience… We work on personal skills, which is communication, integrity, teamwork collaboration… They go through the same thing that we have gone through as Wicomico County Public School employees. They do the same schools, they get fingerprinted, they get background checks, they do all of that.”
Students work 5-hour days, 4 days a week, and are paid minimum wage. They would like students to get hired by the county, but ultimately, they want them efficient in the workplace. “This is a 6-week recruitment where they are our employees and hopefully at the end, they have shown themselves available and worthy to be hired,” says Cornish.
Naire Ali is 17-year-old junior who said he stayed in this program to improve his time management and his self-assurance places he feels he struggles the most. “I’m really terrible at getting up in the mornings and stuff like that, so I kind of wanted to get myself in the groove of that… I picked this job I felt like it would’ve been an easy way to kind of incorporate myself and learn jobs skills instead of being thrown instantly into a job. and I did it to kind of really build my confidence in the workplace.”
Hannah Miller, 16, is here for the second year and says originally, she lacked confidence, but gained it along the way. She said that practicing all the skills she’s been taught, is preparing her to experience life on her own. “She assigned us and helped us find jobs that would suit us, or fit our interest, but I think I worried more about not knowing if I’d be good at it… Ms. Cornish really helps you open up, she will help you realize what the real world is, how to handle money, how to deal with time management and communication. And it’s just a really good opportunity.”
Ms. Cornish says this 2-year program is open to any student in Wicomico County going into their 10th or 11th grade year. She says students need to pay close attention to the February Enrollment window, so they don’t miss out on the opportunity. Many students have even gone on to work for the county and they say they had the skills to complete the task, and they welcome others to do the same.
