It’s back-to-school time, and for WestBridge Vocational, that means another year of providing Pre-Employment Transitional Services (Pre-ETS) to high school youth in our catchment area. This is WBV’s sixth year of providing Pre-ETS in Jackson, Macon, and Swain counties and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
What is Pre-ETS?
Pre-ETS is a program designed to provide in-school career exploration. Through a partnership with the North Carolina Division of Employment and Independence for People with Disabilities (EIPD), we offer pre-employment services to students with either an IEP or a 504 Plan. The program allows students to develop work readiness skills, explore career pathways, and prepare for their future.
Growth and Expansion of Pre-ETS
In six years of providing pre-ETS services, we have seen tremendous growth in the program. In 2019, WBV served students in four high schools. This year, our pre-ETS instructors will work with students in seven area schools. In 2019, less than thirty students received pre-ETS instruction. In the 2023-2024 school year, more than ninety high school students with disabilities received pre-employment services. For the 2024-2025 school year, WBV will strive to serve more than one hundred students.
Empowering Youth Through Choice
We all have the right to choose. We choose what we want to eat, we choose the music we want to listen to, we choose our favorite sports teams, and we can choose our career paths. Pre-ETS allows youth with disabilities to choose career paths that interest them, and it prepares them for future employment opportunities. Many Pre-ETS participants will stay in our communities after high school. They will be the next generation of workers that sustain our businesses and help our communities grow and prosper, just as we mold these youth to grow and prosper.
Joe Rigdon, CEO
WestBridge Vocational
