The jobs are out there, and the pay is good, but the students don't enter these fields if they're not informed about where the jobs are.

We wanted to make sure that everyone knew that this was a business- and community-oriented initiative. We want to bring in more business and expand opportunities for students.

The members felt that the School-to-Career Council's name might imply that it was self-contained and operated by the schools. But the program includes business leaders, companies and the community. There are many opportunities to be involved in helping build a strong future workforce for Rowan County.

One hundred percent of the students who graduate are employed. There's more jobs than we can fill. It's a good problem to have.

Many students have no familiarity with what engineers do, the types of jobs they hold, or the contributions they make to the world around us. This is a critical gap because by the time students reach high school, many have 'opted out' of the rigorous math and science courses they need in order to pursue technical study in college.

We really don't want to shortchange students. We want to leave our jobs saying, ?I made a difference in students lives. Instead, we feel like when we leave our jobs, there are so many undone things we wish we'd have more time to do.