"Ask, ask again, and ask one more time." That’s how adult educators find answers that will help them prepare learners not just for the workplace, but for real jobs in their own communities, says Sue Conrady, director of adult, nonpublic, and ESL education service for Intermediate Unit 1 in southwest Pennsylvania.

The questions are straightforward:

1. Who would make good partners at the One-Stops in my community?
2. What are the high-priority occupations in my community?

Conrady is a big believer in partnerships, noting that a good partnership yields important dividends:

• innovative approaches
• sharing of competencies and capabilities
• more resources
• new networks
• greater understanding

To get those benefits, three important needs must be met by each partner.

The first is equity—not equality. "Equity is an equal right to be at the table," Conrady says.

The second is transparency. "Partners must be open and honest with each other," she says.

The third is mutual benefit; the partnership has to achieve specific benefits for each partner.

Even with all three in place, Conrady says there are still potential obstacles. The primary ones are skepticism, unrealistic expectations, inadequate skills, conflicting priorities, and turf/politics/competitiveness.

Manage to avoid or deal with the obstacles and you are ready for question one.

Who would make good partners at the One-Stops in my community?

"The key is that you really need to know the personnel in One-Stops," Conrady says. "You need to know the people you can refer to and can refer back to you. You need to know who the governing agencies are for the One-Stops. You need to find out the names of the people who make the decisions and you need to get to know them."

Educators also need to know their partners’ governing agencies and to understand the needs and goals of the One-Stops. You also need to know the agencies’ terminology. (See sidebar at left).

Once you know the people to work with, their goals and their lingo, you are ready for the second question.

What are the high-priority occupations in my community?

"What you learn about high-priority occupations is the basis for curriculum planning," Conrady says. "If there is a need in your area for health care workers for example, that means there are jobs out there, and because they are high priority, applicants are in demand. We should at least be able to expose our students to the availability of jobs in these fields and help support them if they want to pursue these jobs.

"Our help comes with curriculum planning, helping them develop the skills needed in those occupations. Say they want to be a truck driver. We are not going to help them learn to steer the truck, but they will need to be able to read manuals, fill out forms, keep logs, and read road signs. Those are occupational aspects we can help them with.

"Every high-priority occupation requires a certain level of reading, problem solving and thinking skills. If a student is looking to become a welder, maybe we can couch those skills in the way a welder would encounter them. We can also help them understand what arious jobs entail.

"Think about what the aim of adult education is," Conrady concludes. "We are helping our learners prepare to pass the GED, be able to go on to post-secondary education, and be able to get better employment. Through partnerships, our students can definitely improve their lives."

To learn more about One-Stops or to locate a One-Stop in your community, go to careeronestop.org.