- Use entrepreneurship to provide students with transferable soft skills needed to be successful in their career paths.
- Involve students in the business process of the company by encouraging and implementing their ideas and innovation.
- Provide students with knowledge needed to see how soft skills can overlap and are transferable to any career path.
- Provide entrepreneurship training and hands-on business experience to equip high school students with the foundational skills they need for college and career success.
- Students have the opportunity to earn career ready certification from Florida’s Ready to Work Program
What we do
soft skills development & career readiness program Teaches Soft Skills Through Entrepreneurship
The Taste the Impact Soft Skills Development & Career Readiness Program teaches high school students foundational soft skills through entrepreneurship. The learned soft skills are transferable to any career path youth pursue. The skills learned, such as professionalism, communication, teamwork, collaboration, and leadership are integral in the work environment and will provide a person with career durability. Our program creates an immersive learning experience that captivates students’ attention and encourages active participation. This approach fosters engagement, critical thinking, and creativity. Research shows that people with a diverse set of soft skills are more likely to get along with one another and work together to resolve issues.
LEARNING GOALS & OBJECTIVES
IMPACT
Increase the number of high school students with fundamental employability skills.
Work-based internship program Hands-On Skills and Knowledge Development
The Work-Based Internship Program provides high school students an opportunity to work in an environment that offers hands-on skill and knowledge development through work. Classroom knowledge comes alive as the student has the opportunity to explore and reflect on academic theory in practice, in a dynamic organizational environment. This opportunity also allows students to test-drive a career before continuing down a particular path of further education. In addition, the experience will help students build a valuable network of professional contacts, bolster their resume towards gainful employment, and impact their community in a meaningful way. Students in our program who intern in our retail side, Taste of Immokalee, will gain hands-on, real-world experience while operating the Taste of Immokalee business, a student-created, student-operated company. Under the guidance of professional mentors, the interns work in accounting, marketing, sales, operations, research & development and customer service, while running the company.
LEARNING GOALS & OBJECTIVES
- Provide students with an opportunity to gain hands on experience and apply the foundational soft skills, such as professionalism, leadership, critical thinking, active listening, needed to be successful in their first internship.
- Provide high school students with early exposure and the opportunity to discover their passion and strengths and begin forging a successful career path.
- Provide opportunities for assessing abilities and strengths outside the classroom.
IMPACT
- Increase the number of high school students who have completed an internship while in high school.
- Increase the number of high school students who have an opportunity to explore different career paths and help them decide on a long-term career option.
- Increase the number of high school students who have knowledge and hands on experience in running a business.
- Increase the number of high school students who are involved in civic engagement and service learning.
Young Entrepreneurs Program Opens The Door For Middle School Students
The Taste the Impact Young Entrepreneurs Program opens the door to Social Entrepreneurship for Middle School students. The program guides students in identifying a problem in their community, finding a solution, and turning that solution into a business. This is particularly important as Middle School is a crucial time for student development, and this program prepares students for a future beyond middle school. The Young Entrepreneurs Program aims at building middle school students’ sense of empathy and strengthening their awareness for social responsibility through entrepreneurship.
LEARNING GOALS & OBJECTIVES
- Teach students how to create a business (solution to the problem) model from “its ideation, innovation, and market research through its design and prototyping.”
- Teach students how to identify their entrepreneurial passion, interest, and characteristics.
- Teach students how to identify a social problem within their community and come up with an innovative solution.
IMPACT
To empower middle school students through social entrepreneurship.
