DANVILLE — The days are gone when guidance counselors waited for students to tell them what they wanted to be when they grew up.

According to Danville Area Community College’s Carla Boyd, director of career and employment services, educators are being more proactive than ever in challenging students to choose a career path early.

“There are a lot of opportunities and choices and help out there,” she said. “Even if they’re not sure, we want students to at least consider everything.”

DACC last week hosted a Careers, Candlelight and College event, a dinner aimed at Vermilion County parents with sophomores in high school.

The program, which attracted about 100 parents, covered the gamut of pre-college issues, including career choices and financial aid.

“Parents are the biggest influence on students in deciding what careers they’re going to make,” Boyd said.

The college already offers dual-enrollment and High School Express programs wherein students can receive college credit while still attending high school as well as career days for students as young as middle-school age.

“They can take advantage of those programs in their junior year,” she said. “We and the school district have a very concerted effort. The goal is to get all of the information in the hands of the students.”

Vermilion Advantage, which made a presentation at the Candlelight event on local career “clusters” of the future, has also invested in career-track training, teaming up area businesses and school districts for a variety of programs aimed at helping plan and produce a competitive future work force.

Vicki Haugen, CEO and president of the organization, said it will take that concerted effort — among schools, businesses and the community — to change the post-manufacturing mindset of the “old” Danville and train students specifically for jobs of the future.

“We’re trying to reverse the trend,” she said earlier this week in response to Thyssen-Krupp Presta publicizing recent hiring woes.

The company said it was having difficulty filling machine operator positions fast enough following a recent surge in business, citing applicant qualifications as the major problem.

The Presta example goes to the heart of Haugen’s organization’s message: To survive, Danville’s current employer base has to have a well-maintained pipeline of qualified workers.

“You’ve got to keep those (businesses) that are here, strong,” she said, adding her organization has plans to help integrate career education components at every grade level.

Boyd said the college figures to play a continuing role in that pipeline.

DACC recently received a grant through Illinois State University for the promotion of “non-traditional” career paths, she said, which will be one more tool for giving students choices.

“We don’t expect the parents to inhale or digest all of it in one night,” she said. “I consider it a success if one parent ends up with everything they need to help their student make good decisions.”

Boyd said a panel presentation at the Candlelight event had her believing she could have been a police officer — something that never crossed her mind when she was in high school.

“I was listening to them and thought, ‘Hey, I could do that,’” she said.

Which is exactly the intent.

FYI

For more information on Danville Area Community College’s high school-focused career programs, call 443-8593.