A Year of Work Ready Wednesday

Background and Rationale
Leading up to the implementation of Work Ready Wednesdays, there was a clear institutional desire to expand workforce programming to better prepare students to be “Next Step Ready.” At the time, the Center for Workforce and Experiential Learning (CWEL) was not offering consistent workforce events for students. Simultaneously, national employer data from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) repeatedly cited gaps in recent college graduates' critical thinking, communication (oral and written), problem-solving, adaptability, and teamwork skills. These concerns were echoed locally by regional partners such as WestMARC and the West Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce.

CWEL also identified recurring themes in student support interactions. Many students were unaware of available career paths, had chosen a field based on limited or secondhand information, or held narrow views of their options. This indicated a dual need: employers sought better-prepared candidates with professional competencies, and students needed greater exposure to career possibilities and skill development opportunities.

To ensure alignment with national best practices, CWEL adopted the NACE Competencies for a Career-Ready Workforce as the foundational framework for the program. Each Work Ready Wednesday session was designed to address one or more of the eight competencies: Career & Self-Development, Communication, Critical Thinking, Equity & Inclusion, Leadership, Professionalism, Teamwork, and Technology.

Recognizing the importance of consistency and visibility, Work Ready Wednesdays launched with a weekly schedule, every Wednesday from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. With the exception of Dress for Success, which was held in person due to the nature of the event, all sessions were offered in a HyFlex format to accommodate both in-person and virtual participation.

Equally important was the collaborative approach to program development and delivery. CWEL partnered with the Career and Transfer Center (CTC), Counseling Services, the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL), and the ASU Blackstone LaunchPad to create a shared, campus-wide initiative. Through the ASU Blackstone LaunchPad collaboration, Work Ready Wednesdays were also promoted across all 10 Maricopa County Community Colleges and Arizona State University via the shared events platform, WorldLabs, expanding visibility and access beyond EMCC.

Work Ready Wednesdays officially launched in August 2024 and was implemented throughout the 2024–2025 academic year. A total of 25 sessions were held across the fall and spring semesters, each focused on building essential professional skills, exploring current workforce trends, and fostering meaningful connections to industry.  

Data
Session topics, participant satisfaction, and attendance was collected and is presented below.

Table 1. Topics by Semester (See attachment)

See Appendix 1. Attendance VS. Session Chart (See attachment)

Table 2.  Attendance by Audience and Semester (See attachment)

Graph 1. Participant satisfaction, 97% of participants rated the event as “Good” or “Very Good”. (See attachment)

Graph 2. Participant satisfaction, 94% of participants agree or strongly agree that they would recommend the event to peers. (See attachment)

Student Success Stories:

• A student shared how thankful she was for the session- it helped her recognize new possibilities in computer science, a field she was uncertain about.
• After attending, a student connected with the panelist, an ASU Biomedical Researcher, and job-shadowed in her lab.
• A student interested in a 1:1 career interview was connected in real time during the event.
• Two, first-semester students attended, were actively engaged in the session, and stayed after to discuss their career goals. They were introduced to the Microsoft Data Center Academy Scholarship, and one student has since been placed in an internship and received the WIRCCS Scholarship.

Interpretation and Comparison
By the end of the 2024–2025 academic year, a total of 368 students and 60 faculty or staff members attended a Work Ready Wednesday session, averaging 17 participants per event. Participant satisfaction was notably high: 97% of attendees rated the sessions as “Good” or “Very Good,” and 94% agreed or strongly agreed that they would recommend the event to a peer.

There was a significant 54.76% increase in attendance from Fall 2024 to Spring 2025. We attribute this growth to a combination of expanded marketing efforts, increased campus awareness, heritage month collaboration, and compelling program content.

Initial marketing efforts included event postings on 25Live, the EMCC Events webpage, ASU WorldLabs, printed flyers, digital distribution of flyers to the MCCCD Career Council, campus-wide emails, student newsletters, and announcements via Canvas from the Career and Transfer Center, STEM Center of Excellence, and CWEL. Faculty also supported promotion through class announcements.

In Spring 2025, additional strategies were implemented to further boost visibility:

• Three A-frame signs were placed weekly to direct students to the session location.
• A request was made for the Spring 2025 course schedule to identify faculty and classes that might benefit from or be interested in attending.
• Ongoing promotion occurred during department meetings and other internal gatherings.
• Collaborated with Heritage Month committees to align programming with Black History Month, Women’s History Month, and Autism Awareness Month celebrations.
• To increase engagement, we considered changing the session time and worked with the Office of Planning and Institutional Effectiveness (OPIE) to analyze campus attendance patterns. Based on this data, we ultimately chose to maintain the 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. time slot, as it aligned well with campus peak attendance times.

These combined efforts, along with the program’s consistent weekly schedule, contributed to stronger campus recognition and increased student participation.

Beyond marketing, the diversity of topics and presence of high-interest guest speakers played a critical role in attracting attendees. Notable sessions included From Molecules to Galaxies: Hispanic Women in Engineering, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), Entrepreneurial Insights: A Panel with the Founders of Straw and Wool, Leadership Insights: A Conversation with the Mayor of Avondale, Effective Communication with Non-Technical Audiences, and Dress for Success (free professional attire).  Across both semesters, sessions featuring prominent or engaging guest speakers consistently drew the highest attendance, underscoring the importance of relevant and relatable content in driving student engagement.  

Additionally, we found that sessions with the highest engagement were those where faculty brought their classes, offered extra credit, or integrated the events into class assignments, highlighting the impact of faculty involvement in driving student participation.

Additionally, thanks to the generous support of the ASU Blackstone LaunchPad grant, pizza was provided each week for participants. We believe this added incentive enhanced the event’s appeal.  While promotion extended across all Maricopa Community Colleges and ASU through shared platforms, attendance remained primarily EMCC-based.  We believe this is a reflection of intentional marketing approaches, campus collaboration, and strong community buy-in at EMCC.