Newly formed Carbon County Business Education Partnership will receive a $20,000 grant to be applied throughout county schools. The Labor and Industry Department Grant, according to Education Consultant and retired superintendent Robert Mauro, will be used to create programs to teach students important skills for the 21st century workforce.

"The number one issue is soft skills. The new work force has no idea that sick days are for when you are sick, that you have to show up on time. We are looking to create programs to teach that," he said.Some of the activities that will be funded by the grant will include getting guest speakers to demonstrate jobs within a company, participate in career fairs for students, create panel discussion regarding employability skills, offer job shadowing experiences and offer short-term internship opportunities.Mauro said he personally invited local business owners such as Steve Ohl of R.F. Ohl and educators like Jim Thorpe Superintendent Brian Gasper to get the word out about the program and explain its function and importance.County schools Panther Valley, Jim Thorpe and the Carbon Career & Technical Institute will receive funding for the seven-month grant program."It took so many months to get it started because we have no budget," said Pocono Counties Workforce Investment Area Executive Director Joseph Sebelin.The WIA was established in 1983 to bring more employment and job training to the area."We need this connection between schools and employers. This is an opportunity to start something that is beneficial to the county."Mauro ended the presentation with some food for though for the crowd to consider over the next few weeks."Employers, I want you to think about when you're hiring people, what do you think is most important?" Mauro asked.