Intern: Emily HersheyWilson School District

Reading & English (9th grade)

Brentwood Industries develops plastics through

the processes of thermoforming and injection molding.

Brentwood services the industries of battery, biological treatment, building, clarification, construction, cooling

tower, medical, packaging, stormwater

management, and transportation.

The “inside Berks business” program gives educators the opportunity to experience the world of a local business first-hand.By participating in this program,

I was able to gain a better understanding of: The careers that are currently available,

crucial, and in demand in the local economy What it takes to run a successful

business The skills and competencies businesses

are looking for in their employees Technology being utilized in today’s

world

At Brentwood, I had the opportunity to: Visit with employees in a variety of roles and hear about

their daily expectations Interview employees about their thoughts related to the

business as a whole as well as the skills they found important Experience day-to-day tasks first-handWatch and listen to employees interact together on project

developmentWatch technical and maintenance workers complete

hands-on work, from design to production to quality inspection Learn about the great variety of products that Brentwood

makes and the processes for producing them

Brentwood hires workers and professionals in the areas of: Engineering Skilled trades & manufacturing Operations & distribution Sales & supportMarketing Information technology Finance Corporate administration & complianceEducation requirements vary from no degree

needed up to masters or doctorates, depending on the position.No degree is required for positions such as

operator technician, quality inspector, maintenance, machine operator, & shipping/receiving. Internships are available in various fields.

Employee salary varies by position, degree or skill level required, and promotion. Wages are competitive based on local area and size of company. Hourly workers start at $12.74/hour and can increase to

$25/hour with promotion. Benefits at all levels are standard and include health care,

vision and dental options, 401K, long & short term disability. Education and training directly related to the employee’s current job is fully paid for by the company.

People & Working Environment

Diversity of product

Growth

Industry-specific knowledge

Quality

Privately-held

Changing & Adapting

Growth

Diversity of product

Overhead

Staying up-to-date or ahead

Finding & retaining qualified

candidates

Skills

Experience

Good fit

Desire/Engagement

Communicat-ing effectively

Employee-Employee

Leadership-Staff

Staff-Customer

Company-wide Microsoft Office suite Excel Power BI Outlook OneNote Yammer

Skype for Business (internal & external communication)

SyteLine (electronic data interface) Cloud storage

Engineering / Tooling Solidworks (computer aided design) Mastercam (programing CNC tooling

machine) 3D printer (making molds)

Manufacturing Machinery

Information Technology Sequel (programing)

Marketing CRM (tracking accounts and communicating

with contacts) Finance & HR ADP (payroll & job postings)

Reading skills are needed across positions! Professional: critical reading & writing to understand,

analyze, & explain; Sift through a lot of information & make decisions based on analysis & evaluation

Leadership: reading & researching new ideas Technical: reading & interpreting work orders and

lengthy specification documents

Subject Area: Reading and/or English Grade Level: 9 PA Academic Standards for Career Education & Work Addressed: 13.1 Career Awareness and Preparation (relate careers to interests, abilities and aptitudes; analyze

career options based on the same; career preparation) 13.3 Career Retention and Advancement (personal attitudes & work habits, active listening, conflict

resolution) Content Academic Standards Addressed: 1.2 Reading Informational Text Students read, understand, and respond to informational text—with

an emphasis on comprehension, vocabulary acquisition, and making connections among ideas and between texts with focus on textual evidence. (Central idea, Summary, Vocabulary, Comprehension)

1.5 Speaking and Listening Students present appropriately in formal speaking situations, listen critically, and respond intelligently as individuals or in group discussions. (Collaborate, Present findings clearly, Adapt speech per context)

Activity 1: After participating in various career -related interest, ability, and aptitude surveys, students will read informational text about a career that might be appropriate for them according to the survey results. Students will summarize the text and evaluate the career’s appropriateness for them based on any new information they have learned. Students will research and list appropriate training and education they will need should they choose to pursue that career.

Activity 2: In small groups, students will role-play what it might be like to get together with colleagues at work to solve a work-related problem. To prepare, each student will need to individually read and understand any information related to their role. They will also be able to discuss their information with other students in the same role (across groups). The group will then come together to discuss, utilizing active listening skills. After the discussion, each student will evaluate themselves in terms of listening skills. They will also reflect on how conflict resolution skills might be important in the workplace.