At least three times a year, about 1,400 business leaders meet at Great Oaks Career Campuses to review curriculum, visit the career labs, and discuss the future of a variety of career fields.

These partners are members of Business and Industry Advisory Committees. Every career program at every Great Oaks Career Campus has one, and they provide a valuable connection between education and the workplace. Our students can be sure that they are learning appropriate skills with up-to-date equipment because of these Committees.

The business connection has other important benefits. Students can meet and talk with experienced professionals in their future field. They can network, and they can often begin internships or job placements that grow into permanent employment after graduation. And the relationship is mutually beneficial; annual surveys of employers show that 95% would hire Great Oaks graduates again.

Great Oaks, like all career-technical schools, relies on a strong relationship with business and industry. Our ultimate goal is students’ success, and that means being able to follow the path they choose after graduation—whether it’s college, career, the military, or some combination. Our business partnerships ensure that students who work hard in school will be ready for the real world when they graduate.

Business relationships benefit students in other ways. Great Oaks was recently chosen by Delta Airlines as a preferred education partner—one of less than two dozen schools nationwide to be selected. Our Aviation Maintenance students will learn on current engines and equipment provided by Delta as they prepare for Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification—and they’ll have an opportunity to work at a large airline after they finish high school.

Cooper Electric, under the direction of president Greg Hyland, is another example. Hyland was recently recognized by a statewide organization of career school districts for his support of Great Oaks students by providing internships, hiring graduates, sharing technology and knowledge with the Commercial/Residential Electricity program, and supporting the Great Oaks Foundation.

Feintool, a supplier to the automotive and medical industries, has for several decades hired students and graduates and launched numerous successful careers.

Many of our graduates go on to college; increasingly, they do so with the help of their employers or with a skill that allows them to work while pursuing a degree.

Students must be ready to succeed in the world when they graduate. Thanks to the hundreds of business partners who have stepped up to support Great Oaks, our graduates are prepared.

Harry Snyder is President/CEO of Great Oaks Career Campuses.