Essex County Schools of Technology honored Marsha Armstrong, a youth program director at NewarkWorks/Newark One-Stop Career Center, as its 2020 Business Partner of the Year.
The award is given annually to a county vocational technical school business partner for outstanding contributions to career and technical education. Business partners play a variety of roles, including serving on county vocational technical school program advisory boards, offering opportunities for students to gain valuable work experience, donating equipment, or serving as mentors and role models for students.
The district has partnered with the One-Stop Career Center to provide sustained career development and job placement for culinary students.
“Marsha provides our students with valuable learning experiences such as workshops on financial literacy, career exploration, and personal and professional development,” said Dr. James Pedersen. “She works with students to match them directly with an employer in the culinary field.”
Students are employed through the Newark One Stop during the school year and have the opportunity to work at Essex County Donald Payne Sr. Tech’s Summer Youth Employment Farm-to-Table Program during the summer.
“Marsha is committed to providing our students with opportunities to succeed and to build their capacity to become competitive in the marketplace,” Pedersen said.
