Career Awareness & Exploration

Helping students understand industries, occupations, pathways, and regional opportunities.

 

Work-Based Learning & Internships

Expanding access to meaningful workplace experiences and employer-connected learning.

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Employer Engagement

Building stronger connections between schools, businesses, and regional workforce needs.

 

Program Alignment & Support

Helping schools implement Connecting Activities in alignment with MassHire and state reporting expectations.

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What BV Hub Delivers Through Connecting Activities

BV Hub’s Connecting Activities work is designed to strengthen career-connected learning across participating districts through shared regional programming, employer engagement, work-based learning development, and district-level support.

 

Current programming includes:

20/40 Speaker Series
Monthly in-district career-connected sessions that bring employers, industry professionals, and career perspectives directly to students.

Senior Scoop
A regional event jointly supported through Connecting Activities and BV Hub’s Partnered School Program, helping graduating students explore employment, training, education, and next-step opportunities.

Regional Career-Awareness & Hiring Events
Shared events that connect students with employers, industries, career pathways, and regional opportunities.

Employer & School Convenings
Opportunities for educators, employers, and workforce partners to connect around career pathways, student needs, and regional workforce priorities.

Employability Skills Programming
Workshops and activities focused on resumes, interviewing, networking, workplace readiness, and other skills students need to successfully enter the workforce.

Employer & Industry Connections
Ongoing development of relationships with regional employers that can support career fairs, classroom presentations, workplace visits, job shadows, internships, employment, and other career-connected activities.

 

Connecting Activities funding is regional and capacity-based. BV Hub does not provide individualized internship or employment placement for every student in each participating district.

 

Services & Support for Participating Schools

BV Hub works with participating districts to support the career-connected learning activities identified in each school’s Connecting Activities plan.

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Career Fairs & Career Awareness
Support for school-based and regional career fairs, career-awareness activities, hiring events, and experiences that introduce students to employers, industries, and career pathways.

Industry Presentations & Employer Engagement
Classroom speakers, job chats, employer panels, industry presentations, and other opportunities that connect students directly with employers and regional industries.

Internship & Work-Based Learning Program Development
Support developing and strengthening internship and work-based learning programs, identifying employer connections, building placement pipelines, and improving district processes for paid and unpaid experiences. BV Hub can help schools develop opportunities and make employer connections, but individual placements depend on employer availability, student readiness, school processes, and program capacity.

Job Shadows & Workplace Experiences
Connections to workplace visits, tours, job shadows, and other experiences that allow students to learn directly from employers and work environments.

Youth Employment
Connections to youth employment opportunities and related regional workforce programs for eligible students.

School-Specific Career Activities
Additional career-connected activities included in a district’s Connecting Activities plan, including employability workshops, career exploration experiences, employer events, and other approved work-based learning activities.

 

These areas reflect the FY27 activity categories BV Hub is supporting across participating districts, including career fairs, industry presentations, internships, job shadows, youth employment, and other approved career-connected activities. 

 

District Reporting & Program Coordination

Participating Tier 2 districts submit quarterly reporting to Lauren Barrett at BV Hub on high school career-connected learning activity.

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Reporting includes activity in Connecting Activities deliverable categories such as:

1. Career fairs

2. Industry presentations

3. Job shadows

4. Other approved career-connected activities

5. Paid and unpaid internship placements

6. Employment placements

7. Other work-based learning experiences

 

BV Hub supports participating schools with reporting coordination, implementation questions, employer outreach, internship program development, and connections to regional opportunities.

 

Connecting Activities Is a Focused Program

Connecting Activities is a state-supported career development and work-based learning initiative. Its purpose is to strengthen career awareness, employer engagement, work-based learning, and related systems within participating high schools.

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It is not intended to provide the broader level of district-wide planning, grant development, equipment access, customized programming, professional development, pathway design, or ongoing implementation support available through BV Hub’s Partnered School Program.

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Schools can participate in Connecting Activities while also working with BV Hub through other programs and partnerships.

 

Participating Tier 2 Districts for 2026–27

BV Hub is supporting the following Tier 2 Connecting Activities districts through Central MassHire for the 2026–27 school year:

• Blackstone-Millville Regional

• Douglas

• Southbridge

• Mendon-Upton / Nipmuc

• Milford

• Millbury

• Northbridge

• Sutton

• Uxbridge

• Webster

• North Brookfield​