Hancock Health’s Work-Based Learning Program is Changing Lives in Our Community

Times, they are a changing, and today’s generation of students will need to prepare for their futures in different ways than past generations. Knowledge and information are readily available thanks to our global connections, but college costs are also on the rise. Many high schoolers find themselves worried about what awaits them. Hancock Health’s Work-Based Learning Program is hoping to change the tides by helping students feel prepared to enter today’s ever-changing workforce.  

We spoke with Laura Barnett, Senior Recruiter at Hancock Health, about Hancock Health’s Work-Based Learning Program she is running alongside Joy Higbee, Director of Hancock Well-Being. Together, they work with four area high schools: Greenfield Central, Mount Vernon, New Palestine, and Eastern Hancock, to help students gain the necessary experience to prepare them for specific career paths in health and wellness fields.  

This program isn’t new. In fact it has been around in an informal way for a while. However, Barnett and Higbee wanted to create a structured program that will give Hancock County students a tailored experience, helping them feel more empowered upon entering the workforce. This pilot program launched in July of 2024 and will run through the 2024-2025 school year, employing students at all the Hancock Health Wellness Centers. Interested high school applicants interviewed for nine open positions within the three wellness center locations in April of 2024.

Positions include working alongside trainers to gain more exercise science experience, working the front desk to learn about customer service, spending time in the jungle club to gain child development experience and more. Teachers oversee participating students at school, while they also spend 15 hours a week working under supervisors at the wellness centers who are members of Hancock Health’s Leadership Development Program.

Student participants in the program gain not only valuable on-the-job experience that can help launch them into a variety of career paths, but they also gain the skills today’s employers are looking for. These include interview skills, preparing a resume, responsibilities as an employee, professionalism, communication, how to handle social media in the workplace, and more.  

Hancock Health’s program has proved to be meaningful to both students and supervisors. Students have the opportunity to learn about various career paths first-hand and can use that information and experience to make decisions about the next step in their education and career. It makes them more informed consumers of educational opportunities down the line and empowers them to feel confident choosing a path, whether that path leads to college, an apprenticeship, or straight into the field. On the other side of the mentorship, it’s a chance for the supervisor to grow in their leadership and coaching skills. They’re investing in the development of these students and enhancing their own skills along the way.

“I am so excited to hear about all the opportunities and different ways that we can help kids make that transition in a way that works for them,” says Barnett. “Ultimately, we are helping them find the keys and tools to make that a reality and that is very exciting to me. An empowered student is one that will ideally be invested in their own success.”

Both Barnett and Higbee are excited to watch the program take root and are planning additional work-based learning opportunities in both clinical and non-clinical roles throughout Hancock Health. To learn more about the Hancock Health Work-Based Learning Program, contact Laura Barnett at LBarnett@hancockhealth.org.