It’s a win-win relationship: business and industry shoulder much of the cost, as employers pay students. One key to Denver’s success is its close collaboration with CareerWise Colorado, a statewide intermediary organization dedicated to building bridges between employers and CTE providers. Modeled on similar programs in Switzerland, Singapore, and Germany, Denver’s approach provides students with paid apprenticeships in high-growth and high-demand industries such as financial services, healthcare, and information technology. In Denver, former superintendent Tom Boasberg worked with local industry to develop one of the nation’s most robust work-based learning models as part of Denver’s CareerConnect. Today, students prepare to work in Nevada’s “new” economy through 79 programs in six career clusters, in fields ranging from computer science and cybersecurity to local trades like mining and tourism. The state began evaluating existing CTE programs, expanding work-based learning opportunities, and developing new pathways in consultation with business and industry. In response, state leaders, including former State Superintendent of Public Instruction Steve Canavero, came together to create a “ New Nevada” by diversifying the state’s economy.Ī cornerstone of the effort is a plan to improve CTE, since many new jobs would require a credential, training, or certification, but only half would necessitate college degrees. When the 2008 economic recession hit Nevada, jobs in the state’s entertainment and gambling industries dwindled. Chiefs for Change, a bipartisan network of state and district education leaders, recently released a report, Let’s Get to Work: Learning From Success in Career and Technical Education, highlighting innovative efforts to modernize CTE programs in Nevada, Denver, and San Antonio, among other places. Thankfully, there are bright spots in the evolving landscape of American career and technical education, places where innovative, forward-thinking leaders are working closely with business and industry to prepare students for the jobs of tomorrow. In countries like Switzerland and Germany, where CTE students often combine work-based learning with classroom study, employers play a central role by providing financial resources and helping to ensure curricula reflect the state of the art in the workplace.Īmerican CTE programs, in contrast, are often designed without employers’ input, resulting in many programs that aren’t aligned to industry needs and that don’t offer paid, work-based learning opportunities. If we want CTE programs to prepare future employees for success in the workplace, it’s critical that employers play a role in preparing these future employees.Įmployer involvement in CTE programs is not a novel concept. Partnerships between those providing education and those providing jobs are key to addressing the problem. For employers, it can mean shortages of qualified workers, diminished productivity, and underperforming regional economies. The result for students can be dead-end jobs and unemployment. Many of today’s CTE students learn skills that are no longer relevant, or they obtain credentials that don’t matter to employers. But too often career-preparation programs fail to live up to their name. What does it mean for students to be “career ready”? It should mean they’re prepared to enter the workforce with the knowledge and skills they need to thrive, ideally in fields that pay enough to support a family.
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