February 2nd is the 10th Annual National Job Shadow Day

Washington, DC—Friday, February 2, 2007, marks the 10th Annual National Job Shadow Day. The national event was first launched in 1998 by General Colin Powell and America’s Promise — The Alliance for Youth, Junior Achievement, the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Labor as a way to give young people an up-close look at the world of work. Since then, the event has gone from reaching tens of thousands of students to an estimated one million teens a year. The 10th Annual National Job Shadow Day is made possible through the support of national title sponsor ING.

Job Shadow Day is part of a yearlong national effort to enrich the lives of students by acquainting them with the world of work through on-the-job experiences and a carefully crafted school curriculum that ties academics to the workplace. Through Job Shadow ing, students are given the opportunity to go into places of work and shadow “career mentors,” volunteers who discuss their careers and the education and skills necessary to do them.

“It is truly remarkable that this initiative has continued to flourish over the past decade,” said Mark Fiore, Executive Director of the Job Shadow Coalition. “In the coming years, we look forward to helping greater numbers of young people make the connection between what they learn in school and eventual success in the workplace.”

About Job Shadow Day

National Job Shadow Day is a coordinated effort of America’s Promise — The Alliance for Youth, Junior Achievement, the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Labor. National partners include the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) and is made possible through the support of national title sponsor ING. For additional information, including a How-to Guide and a brochure on how to coordinate Job Shadow ing, visit www.jobshadow.org. For more information contact info@jobshadow.org or your local Junior Achievement office.

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