Partnering with the Academies of Louisville provides your business with the opportunity to invest in Louisville’s future workforce while also reaping tangible benefits. You’ll gain early access to a pipeline of local, talented, and career-focused students. Your involvement allows your employees to engage in meaningful volunteer work, which can enhance morale and satisfaction. Additionally, your company will be recognized as a community leader, contributing to workforce development and educational advancement—while also reducing your long-term training and recruitment costs by helping prepare future hires today.

We value your time, and that’s all we ask for—never a financial contribution. Each business partner is asked to commit to attending 2–3 Academy Advisory Committee meetings per school year and providing 1–5 student engagement activities (like classroom visits, job shadows, or internships). You choose the activities and level of involvement that best fit your organization’s capacity. There are also optional opportunities to donate materials, equipment, or branded items that can enhance learning experiences.

Each activity varies in time commitment depending on preparation, participation, and follow-up. Check out our guide here outlining estimated time commitments, inspiration, and steps for facilitating various types of student activities, and our team is happy to help with all steps along the way!

If you have open positions that you'd like to open to our students and graduates, we encourage you to share! If your business does not have the capacity to become a full partner or engage with the schools, we welcome sharing of any open positions that would support the career journeys of our students.

The best way to showcase your company is by showing up! You can promote your brand by engaging with students through classroom visits, site tours, and job shadows. Bringing branded materials, participating in career fairs, or offering internships also helps students get to know your company. Highlight your team’s diversity and share real stories—students connect best with authentic, relatable professionals. The more visible and involved you are, the more memorable your company becomes to future job seekers.

We want you to invest time into relationship building, and that is best accomplished by creating and developing a connection to particular school(s). We match businesses with schools based on career pathway alignment to ensure your industry expertise supports the school's specific programs. This approach helps create meaningful and relevant experiences for students while providing your team with opportunities to engage in work-based learning activities that align with your company’s operations. Proximity can also play a role—partnering with a nearby school makes logistics easier when students are coming on-site. See our 2024-2025 map of Academies of Louisville schools and pathways here.

We would greatly appreciate any recommendations! Please contact Emily Drexler, Business Partner Recruiter, to make a recommendation.

Working with high school students is a rewarding, inspiring experience. These students are bright, curious, and eager to learn—but they’re also still developing socially and emotionally. You may be their first professional connection outside of school, and that’s a big deal! To keep them engaged, mix things up with hands-on activities, interactive sessions, and real-world stories. Be authentic, patient, and encouraging. You’ll likely find that you’re not just sharing your career—you’re shaping theirs.