Be Pro Be Proud, Arkansas' workforce development initiative, celebrated another successful "Draft Day" event at the Pine Bluff Convention Center on Tuesday.
Representatives from 25 statewide organizations and 10 regional high schools were paired for career explorations and interviews, totaling more than 300 interviews throughout the event.
"Draft Day is a great opportunity for students to meet with employers and have the connection from high school classroom settings to real-world experiences," said Abana Nevans, educator and JAG specialist at Sheridan High School. "Having [our students] interview with people makes me very proud that they are stepping out and doing something hard for them, but will help them in their future careers."
The program offers a comprehensive 14-week intensive curriculum designed to propel businesses toward exponential growth and success. The companies will work with expert advisers to craft strategies for long-term sustainable growth while reshaping their culture and processes to fit a new vision.
It encompasses essential areas such as leadership and culture; strategic growth planning; operational effectiveness; innovation readiness; financial health; digital readiness; and revenue velocity. This comprehensive approach equips participants with the tools and strategies necessary to achieve 10X growth.
In its third year, Draft Day helps build tomorrow's skilled workforce by matching employers and students through registration and the implementation of the YouScience Aptitude and Interest Assessment. There are nine draft day events taking place across Arkansas this spring, working alongside the career awareness efforts through the Be Pro Mobile Workshop Tour, which has engaged nearly 200,000 Arkansas students since its 2016 launch. The proven program has been pivotal in redefining the trajectory of growth for Arkansas companies, driving innovation and success.
A recent 10X alumnus, Mark McNair of Emprise Digital said, "Of the many benefits our agency gained from being a part of the 10X program, the biggest impact came from the access to such a comprehensive collection of business minds! We discovered that we were doing some things really well and that there were other areas we really didn't know much about at all. Our greatest single takeaway was the development of a great sales process that is allowing our business to go to a whole new level."
Draft Day is sponsored by the Arkansas Department of Commerce and the Arkansas Office of Skills Development and supported statewide by the Arkansas departments of Education and Higher Education, as well as the Arkansas Chapter of Future Farmers of America (FFA) Association.
For more information about Be Pro Be Proud's 2024 Draft Day series, visit https://www.beprobeproudar.org/draft-day-2024.