CAREER READINESS ACADEMY

The Detroit Economic Club’s Career Readiness Academy (CRA) is a six-month program designed to teach career readiness skills to high school students throughout S.E. Michigan.

During this journey, the same team of Young Leaders and students connect to explore topics like future hot jobs, career economics, networking & interview skills, and how to market yourself.

This experience not only provides the opportunity for more personalized attention throughout sessions but also forges important mentor-mentee relationships.

Key Dates:

September – October: Mentor and High School Registration
November: Mentor and School Liaison Orientations
December – May: Program

School applications close at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, September 25, 2026.

Mentor applications close at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, October 11, 2026.

PROGRAM IMPACT SINCE 2015

ABOUT

Purpose

To allow students to critically explore career options.
- Students will be challenged to gain a well-informed perspective on the journey ahead and acquire the tools necessary to navigate a dynamic job environment.
To enhance each student’s personal and professional network.
- Detroit Economic Club Young Leader (YL) members (ages 21-39) lead the program as facilitators and mentors.
- At the culmination of the program, you will attend a DEC meeting with your group of “graduating” students. Students will put their newly acquired skills into practice as they network with DEC members and build their initial professional network.

Format

Eight 90-minute sessions held around lunch time over the course of six months.
A three- or four-person Young Leader team serving as leads/mentors to develop the students.
- The same YLs attend every session.
10-15 students selected by the school to participate in the program.
- The same students attend every session.
Venues are a combination of sessions at your school, off-site at Oakland Community College – Auburn Hills, and a DEC meeting.
- School is responsible for providing transportation.

General Curriculum

CRA Intro, Hot Industries & Personal Brand (December Field Trip): Designed to provide an understanding of what a personal brand is, what impacts it, and how to use it for your future.
Career Assessment: Designed for students to understand ways to explore careers and the range of careers. Also, to develop an awareness of how society and technology may impact future careers.
Career Exploration: Designed to further support students in their career exploration while examining career economics, career education/training, personal budgets and the impact of choices.
Resume & LinkedIn: Designed to assist students signing up for a LinkedIn account, building out of their profile page and understanding the value of both LinkedIn and resumes.
Advanced Manufacturing & Skilled Trades (March Field Trip): Designed to expose students to the vast opportunities in advanced manufacturing, skilled trades and emergency services. This session is made possible by the generous staff at Oakland Community College (OCC) – Auburn Hills Campus.
Financial Literacy: Designed to provide students an understanding of basic money principles, learn key spending, understand the types of debt and how they are related to life and, gain awareness of student loans and student aid.
Interview Skills & Networking: Designed to support students with an understanding of the benefits of an elevator pitch and how to prepare for an interview.
DEC Graduation Meeting (May Field Trip): Designed for the students to utilize the skills they learned during the 6-month career exploration program by networking. The meeting begins with a student-only reception with the speaker(s) of the day. This is followed by lunch and the program. After the program, students will have the opportunity to network with DEC members.

For Schools

The DEC Provides:

Standardized Lesson Plans
90 Minute In-Person Interactive Discussion
Key Takeaways
Pre- and Post-Session Activities

School Commitment Expectations:

Identify one representative from the school to serve as our point-of-contact and support system throughout the program.
This representative MUST attend a mandatory orientation in November.
Commit to 8 monthly sessions (90 minutes) from December – May.
Commit the same 10-15 students for the duration of the program.
Ensure students attend each session.
Ensure one school liaison is present for each session.
Ensure brief homework assignments are completed in a timely fashion.
Ensure a room and A/V are ready for each session.
Provide transportation to 3 of the 8 sessions outside the school.

Unfortunately, we cannot accommodate individual students. All participating students must be part of a school group.

For Mentors

How Do I Get Assigned to a School/Team?
The DEC will best match you to a school based on various factors (e.g., profession, city, volunteer need, etc.). Sessions are typically 1.5 hours around lunchtime on Fridays.

Mentor Commitment Expectations:

Maintain an active Young Leader membership.
Attend a mandatory orientation in November.
Participate in prep calls with your YL volunteer team before each session to review the curriculum and prepare for upcoming sessions.
Attend eight (8) sessions at the high school or a field trip location between December and May.
Returning Mentors have the opportunity to serve as a Team Captain.

2026 - 2027 Career Readiness Academy

THANK YOU TO THE 2026 - 2027 CRA SPONSORS

Individuals or organizations may sponsor a participating high school for a tax-deductible donation of $1,000.

For their contribution, sponsors are invited to participate as guests at one of their sponsored schools’ sessions and receive one (1) ticket to “graduation” held at a spring DEC meeting.

Please contact Matt Valant at (313) 963-8547 or mvalant@econclub.org.

THANK YOU TO THE 2026 - 2027 CRA PARTNERS

PARTICIPATING HIGH SCHOOLS

AGBU Alex & Marie Manoogian School (Southfield)

Aim High School (Farmington Hills)

Central Academy (Ann Arbor)

Chippewa Valley High School (Clinton Township)

Dakota High School (Macomb)

Farmington High School (Farmington)

Frontier International Academy (Detroit)

Hazel Park High School (Hazel Park)

Hope of Detroit Academy High School (Detroit)

International Academy East (Troy)

International Academy of Macomb (Macomb)

Melvindale High School (Melvindale)

Northville High School (Northville)

Oak Park High School (Oak Park)

University Prep Science & Math (Detroit)

Western International High School (Detroit)

CRA COMMITTEE

Dorian Grey, Co-Chair
Detroit Regional Chamber

Autumn Hegner, Co-Chair
USI Insurance Services

Jaylen Bradley
City of Detroit’s Mayor’s Office

Graeme Carlyle
Fifth Third Bank

Drew Hargrove
First Merchants Bank

Curt Ruffin
BI Worldwide

Dante Scott
JP Morgan Chase

Molly Urquhart
AIM High School

Michael Zlonkevicz
Paint My House

For more information, please reach out to Abby Forth at (313) 963-8547 or aforth@econclub.org.

Interested in participating in the 2027-2028 CRA?

Add your name to our interest list below to receive updates and be notified when the next application cycle opens in September 2027.