Mission
Careers CLiC guides K-12 students through the Continuum of Career Development by connecting schools and employers in our communities. Our programs build career awareness for elementary students, provide career exploration activities for middle school students and offer career preparation opportunities for high school students.
History
In 1996, with Federal money through the School-to-Work Opportunities Act, The Upper Valley Partnership (UVP) was formed. Using traditional and innovative programs, the UVP linked classrooms with the community in Hanover, Lebanon and Mascoma School Districts. With the three-year Federal seed grant set to expire, communities in the Upper Valley recognized the value of fostering relationships between local schools and employers and sought ways to continue the valuable work initiated by UVP.
In 1998, a team of dedicated community members representing all stakeholder groups from both Vermont and New Hampshire incorporated the Upper Valley Business and Education Partnership (UVBEP) to build upon the work started by the UVP. The new Partnership achieved the nonprofit 501 (c)(3) tax-exempt status and operated with the generous support of school districts, employers, community organizations and individual community members.
In 2017, we rebranded as Careers CLiC and scaled our services to bring career development and work readiness programming to schools across New Hampshire and Vermont. We are pleased to continue connecting students and educators with employers in our region.
Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Diversity encompasses all dimensions of human identity and recognizes that individuals experience multiple dimensions of identity.
Equity eliminates barriers to full participation of individuals in programs, communities, organizations and society.
Inclusion ensures participation, representation and belonging for all, in environments where everyone feels welcomed, respected, supported and valued to fully participate.
We at Careers CLiC recognize that in our society there exist many differences among us. We believe that the diversity among us strengthens us as individuals, neighborhoods, schools, organizations, communities and our nation. We believe that embracing and celebrating diversity and ensuring equity and inclusion for all of us are essential to a free, democratic, peaceful, safe and happy society.
We also recognize that many systemic inequities in power and privilege exist in our society, and in our neighborhoods, schools and communities and that these inequities create barriers to respecting diversity and ensuring equity and inclusion. We recognize that youth, parents, educational organizations, workforce preparedness programs, organizations and stakeholders may face barriers to equity and inclusion.
In our work promoting career readiness and workforce preparedness for youth in our region and others, Careers CLiC champions policies and practices that recognize and promote diversity, equity and inclusion. We commit to:
- Offering all programming without consideration of race, ethnicity, sex, gender, age, abilities, immigration status, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, marital or family status, political beliefs, socioeconomic status, ancestry, national origin, language or any other characteristic that is legally protected;
- Training our staff and board members about implicit bias and the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion and how we promote these in our work;
- Determining what diversity, equity and inclusion mean specifically in our organization through a collaborative process with staff and board members;
- Regularly reviewing our job descriptions, policies, programs, processes and systems to improve respect for diversity and to further promote equity and inclusion;
- Promoting respect for diversity and enhancing equity and inclusion in our work; and
- Providing our diversity, equity and inclusion statement and updates on our website.