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This Week in CTE

October 23rd, 2020

We have compiled a list of highlights in Career Technical Education (CTE) from this week to share with you.

CAREERS IN CONSTRUCTION MONTH

Build Your Future is hosting a construction video contest, I BUILT THIS, and giving away more than $20,000 in prizes. Learn more and submit a video here.

During Careers in Construction month, utilize these classroom resources to engage with students about the opportunities in the construction industry.

TWEET OF THE THE WEEK

Essex North Shore Agricultural & Technical School in Massachusetts has relied on their mobile classroom to ensure learners across the district have access to hands-on learning and career training. 

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE OF THE WEEK

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced this week that the Federal Work Study (FWS) Experimental Sites will receive additional funding. This initiative seeks to increase earn-and-learn opportunities by removing barriers to off-campus jobs, allowing increased work hours and allowing institutions to pay students for work-based learning. The increased funds will be used for FWS salaries and to develop Job Location and Development (JLD) programs. Further information can be found here.   

INITIATIVE OF THE WEEK

Advance CTE is honored and excited to co-lead the New Skills ready network! 

RESOURCE OF THE WEEK

Youth apprenticeship programs can give students access to valuable work-based learning experiences that provide insights into how their interest can connect to education and the workforce. Although these programs are often beneficial for participants, there is little data to show the programmatic landscape and impact.

The Role of Data and Accountability in Growing Youth Apprenticeship Programs highlights current practices from states who are collecting data on youth apprenticeship programs, and what steps have been taken to collect high quality enrollment and outcomes data. 

View The Role of Data and Accountability in Growing Youth Apprenticeship Programs in our Learning that Works Resource Center.

Brittany Cannady, Digital Media Associate

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Getting To Know Advance CTE’s Work to Advance Employer Engagement

October 22nd, 2020

The “Getting to Know” blog series will feature the work of State CTE Directors, state and federal policies, innovative programs and new initiatives from the Advance CTE staff. Learn more about each one of these topics and the unique contributions to advancing Career Technical Education (CTE) that Advance CTE’s members work on every day.

Meet Meghan Wills! Meghan is Director of Strategic Initiatives at Advance CTE; she’s been with the organization since August 2019. Meghan leads Advance CTE’s state policy and technical assistance work, including supporting the expansion of high-quality career pathways, providing technical assistance to states as they implement their Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) state plans, and modernizing The National Career ClustersⓇ Framework. 

Q: Through your work at Advance CTE, how have you seen employer engagement prioritized in high-quality CTE programs?

A: As a result of Perkins V, employers have more opportunities than ever before to become active participants in developing high-quality CTE programs. Through the comprehensive local needs assessment (CLNA), employers can identify local workforce needs and high-skill, high-wage, in-demand occupations in their community and ensure that CTE programs and programs of study are aligned to those needs and opportunities. Work-based learning is a critical component of high-quality CTE programs, and the strongest work-based learning experiences are co-developed by employers and the education system to meet both learners’ and employers’ needs. Finally, employers and industry experts are serving as classroom instructors and industry mentors, which provide learners with invaluable opportunities to directly learn from experts in the field.

Q: What are the common barriers to effective employer engagement?

A: One of the biggest challenges employers face when trying to become more engaged in CTE programs is that the education system and employers speak very different languages. Employers are focused on skills their employees will need in the workplace, but they often feel that those skills are not sufficiently emphasized in the education system. Another challenge is that employers often don’t know where to start to become more engaged in CTE programs; while there are a number of opportunities for them to do so, which I described earlier, employers often don’t know about those opportunities or don’t know who they should contact to become more involved.  

Q: What future opportunities do you anticipate for the intersect between CTE and employers?

A: As the country looks ahead to the recovery from COVID-19 (coronavirus), CTE programs can play a strong role in helping prepare learners for jobs of the future, as described in our recent fact sheet CTE Prepares Learners for the Future of Work. The coronavirus accelerated the pace of technological change, and workers in the near future will require a different set of skills to be successful in the workplace. CTE programs, with their strong emphasis on hands-on learning and real-world skills, help learners develop foundational skills that can easily be transferred across rapidly shifting sectors and work activities. As employers remain actively engaged in CTE programs, they can continue to ensure that CTE learners are well prepared with future-oriented foundational skills.

Employers eager to get involved with CTE in their state or local communities can leverage: 

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This Week in CTE

October 9th, 2020

We have compiled a list of highlights in Career Technical Education (CTE) from this week to share with you.

CAREERS IN CONSTRUCTION MONTH

Throughout the month of October, we will celebrate careers in construction. Utilize these classroom resources to engage with students about the opportunities in the construction industry.

 

CTSO OF THE WEEK

National Technical Student Association (TSA) Week concluded with friendship day! Follow the hashtag #TogetherTSA on Twitter for more from the week.

COMPETITION OF THE WEEK

Social Finance and JFF have announced the 2020 Career and Technical Education Through Pay for Success Competition. This competition will expand the reach of high-quality CTE to under-served, high-need youth by offering free technical assistance to awardees to scale programs to achieve data-driven results with long-term sustainability.

The deadline for Perkins-eligible CTE providers to notify Social Finance and JFF of intent to apply is October 16, 2020— please email solicitations@socialfinance.org. Requests for proposals and more information can be found here. 

VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Wisconsin is attracting talent to the manufacturing industry with this video. Happy Manufacturing Month! 

RESOURCE OF THE WEEK

Advance CTE, in partnership with the National Center for Homeless Education (NCHE), has published a new resource as part of the Making Good on the Promise series, which outlines state CTE leaders’ critical responsibility to advancing equitable access and success in CTE for individuals experiencing homelessness.

This new resource identifies common access barriers to high-quality CTE and strategies to support learners experiencing homelessness. Key action steps are included for state CTE leaders and state coordinators for homeless education to consider when developing and growing homeless education partnerships in their state.

View Making Good on the Promise: Improving Equity in and Access to Quality CTE Programs for Students Experiencing Homelessness in our Learning that Works Resource Center.

Brittany Cannady, Digital Media Associate

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Voices of the Workforce: Navigating Career Change in a Crisis

September 24th, 2020

COVID-19 (coronavirus) has affected our workforce systems drastically, forcing unemployment rates to soar and industry sectors to rapidly transition to new ways of seeking and retaining talent. The nation is grappling with how to resolve the economic downturn, while also ensuring that the unemployed, which has disproportionately affected women, Latinx, and Black Americans – are able to get back to work and on track to receive opportunities that advance their livelihoods. 

Some job losses resulting from the pandemic may be permanent causing many American workers to look for ways to reskill and upskill as they reenter into the workforce. The Strada Education Network has committed to building the space for collaboration between industry leaders, state leaders and American adult workers, preparing solutions that are lasting for both. Last week, the Strada Education Network held The Voices of the Workforce: Navigating Career Change in a Crisis webinar, intentionally focusing on sharing the voices from workers displaced from their jobs, navigating a new normal while enrolled in reskilling and upskilling courses. Below are a number of findings from the webinars, and how states have tackled some of these important issues in the past.

Time is a Major Factor

Data shows that 38 percent of workers who lost employment during the pandemic are more likely to now further their education. However, time is posed as a major barrier to enrolling and completing courses. Knowing that 86 percent of adult learners who complete postsecondary Career Technical Education (CTE) courses are employed within six months of completing a program – CTE is a safe bet for those looking to reskill or upskill in order to gain in-demand and living-wage careers. However, postsecondary institutions must create partnerships with the workforce and industry leaders to attract learners seeking programs that have reduced completion times and offer earn and learn programs to support family-sustaining careers. 

Earn and learn programs, such as apprenticeships, paid internship programs and other work-based learning arrangements play a critical role in supporting workers that need to obtain some income while in school. View Quality Pathways: Employer Leadership in Earn and Learn Opportunities in our Learning that Works Resource Center for core design elements and steps stakeholders can take to ensure their pathways meet the voices of American workers.

Supporting Learners in Postsecondary Programs 

The webinar identified a number of areas that postsecondary institutions may want to focus on to best support learners enrolling in programs including financial assistance, hands-on opportunities and help with finding employment upon program completion. Additionally, some adult learners returning back to school have not been in a school setting in many years and may struggle with basic academic schoolwork. States can play a vital role in implementing policies to help support learners in their transition, such as Washington’s Integrated Basic Education Skills Training (I-BEST), which aims to help adult learners obtain academic and technical skills to better prepare for college-level work.

To tackle the financial burden that many learners likely face, states can learn from North Carolina’s Finish Line Grants program. The grants are operated by the North Carolina Department of Commerce and are administered locally through a partnership between community colleges and local workforce development boards.

Continued on the Job Training

CTE programs prepare learners for high-skill jobs in professions that require regular upskilling due to new technology or shifts in the industry. In many cases, this has been accelerated due to the pandemic as companies have moved to fully and partially-virtual workplaces. However,  the coronavirus has limited many opportunities for hands-on job training experiences to continue. American workers encourage employers to continue skills training and certification attainment for newly hired employees. American workers share that they’re not only looking for a job that meets their interests and talents, they are also looking for companies that will invest in them. Companies and industry leaders can sit down with their employees and help to guide them in the direction of upward mobility within the company and within the industry. 

The most important factor in designing programs, supports and policies that the webinar drives home is the need to include and center the people that you are trying to best serve in order to lead to a more equitable path toward upward mobility for all American workers. The full recording of The Voices of the Workforce: Navigating Career Change in a Crisis webinar can be viewed here. 

Other resources for state leaders, policymakers, employers and other key stakeholders:

Brittany Cannady, Digital Media Associate

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Getting to Know Advance CTE’s Work on Equity

September 17th, 2020

The “Getting to Know” blog series will feature the work of State CTE Directors, state and federal policies, innovative programs and new initiatives from the Advance CTE staff. Learn more about each one of these topics and the unique contributions to advancing Career Technical Education (CTE) that Advance CTE’s members work on every day.

Meet Kimberly Green! Kimberly serves as the Executive Director for Advance CTE, where she has been a part of the organization for over 25 years! In the interview below, she shares a little about Advance CTE’s commitment to equity and how her federal advocacy work aligns.

Q. What are a few organizational steps Advance CTE has taken to promote equity?

A. Our organization has not always prioritized equity. It was just a few years ago – in 2018 –  that we began to make the shift to position equity as foundational to our work. We knew we had to approach this work with humility, acknowledging that we had a lot of learning, listening and growing to do. To help with this, we launched an Equity Kitchen Cabinet composed of Advance CTE members and a National Committee on Equity that included representatives of national organizations leading civil rights and equity in education work, to serve as mentors and thought partners. Both groups informed our Board-approved statement on equity. 

As a leader, I always strive to have our organization model what we hope to see in states. After listening and learning from our partners over the course of the year, I knew we had to turn the equity work inward, examining Advance CTE’s organizational culture and processes. Through a year-long grant from the Associated Black Charities (ABC) our staff participated in three, day-long trainings, our leadership received monthly coaching sessions from an equity expert. We conducted an internal equity audit and chose to focus our efforts this first year to revise our recruitment and hiring practices and evaluation system. This grant gave us the skills and confidence to release this statement in June of this year, which outlines a set of commitments that we are working to live up to. As the ABC grant just ended, we are investing our organizational resources to extend this internal work with our next year’s priorities being: building equity into our onboarding curriculum for all new staff; three more, full-day staff trainings; establishing a set of core values; standing up a diversity, equity and inclusion advisory group and more. 

Q. In your work aligned with federal advocacy, what have you witnessed that you are most proud of related to equity and access for learners?

A. I am proud that we advocated for and were successful in positioning equity at the heart of the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V).  Our advocacy broadened the historical equity focus beyond gender equity. Through the comprehensive local needs assessment, a new requirement that we and the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) authored, ensures that policy and fiscal decisions are driven by data and prioritize closing equity gaps. 

Q. Do you have any recommended resources for states to promote equity in CTE?

A. While we have done a lot of internal work, we have also created a number of assets and tools for the CTE community under the Making Good on the Promise Series. This series examines how states can leverage data to identify and address equity gaps, rebuild trust with historically underserved communities, expand access to high-quality CTE for each and every learner and build systems to ensure learner success. This year, in partners from the National Equity Committee, we added to the series through population-specific resources, including a focus on students with disabilities, homeless youth (forthcoming) and justice-involved youth. We also will be releasing a series of assets to help states build their capacity to conduct opportunity gap analysis, a foundational step to identify where gaps exist. In addition to Advance CTE assets, the U.S. Department of Education has assets states can find here and our partners at the National Alliance for Partnership in Equity have some great resources here.

View past entries and stay up to date with the Getting to Know series here.

Brittany Cannady, Digital Media Associate

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Heading Back to School? Don’t Forget to Promote CTE!

September 9th, 2020

Over the past few weeks, learners and instructors across the country put on their first day of school outfits and began a most unusual school year. What the setting looks like – a Zoom room or a classroom – is different from state to state and even district to district. What hasn’t changed is the critical importance of communicating about the value and benefit of Career Technical Education (CTE) to learners, families and other key stakeholders. 

Back to school likely is a lot different this year compared to last, and you may be interacting with families and schools in ways that are new to you, your administration or your state. While your to-do list is certainly long and resources may be thin, Advance CTE has created a number of off-the-shelf materials to help CTE advocates make the case for CTE during and after the pandemic. 

Visit the Engaging Families and Learners section of Advance CTE’s website for templates including an advertisement, brochure, flyer, poster, postcard and banner that are easily customizable with data, photos, quotes and information about CTE in your community. (To access these templates, scroll down to the Digital and Print Materials section and download the Indesign templates). There are also ready-made messaging cards as well as posters in English and Spanish that can be printed out or sent in an e-newsletter. 

Use the CTE 101 video on back-to-school nights or virtual or in-person school visits to showcase how CTE is working for learners and employers every day. 

Lastly, for some stellar examples of how to best reach families at the middle and high school levels both in-person and online, read three short case studies including: 

All of us at Advance CTE wish you a happy and healthy school year!

Katie Fitzgerald, Director of Communications and Membership

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How to Promote Career Technical Education as Vital to Economic Recovery

September 3rd, 2020

COVID-19 (coronavirus) has affected the most foundational aspects of our society, including our education systems and nation’s economy. With millions of Americans unemployed and some industry sectors shuttered or undergoing rapid transformation, Black and Latinx workers, workers with a high school education or less and female workers have been disproportionately impacted. [1] Now, more than ever, CTE is vital to our nation’s learners, employers and America’s economic recovery.

States play a critical role in making the case for CTE. As such, Advance CTE released new assets to help state CTE leaders communicate with policymakers, the media, employers and other key stakeholders. 

Below is a brief overview of each asset and how it can be used. However, before you get started, make sure you, your staff and key spokespeople are speaking the same messages. Use the talking points in this resource to help guide your presentations, resources you plan to develop, and ensure consistency across all who will be talking about this important issue. Of course, supplement state and local data if you have it! 

VIDEO: 

CTE’s Role in the Workforce and Economic Recovery Video

CTE is a program that works for both learners and employers, and should be a critical component of America’s road to economic recovery. In this short video, there are major talking points that help make the case for CTE. All data referred to in the video is cited here. Link to this video on your state websites and in social media posts. This video can also be embedded in your presentation slide decks and in newsletters.

FACT SHEETS: 

Secondary CTE and the Economic Recovery Fact Sheet

Secondary CTE is critical to preparing learners for an evolving workforce and ensuring they have the foundational and transferable skills that will benefit them throughout their lives. For secondary CTE learners and those individuals at the beginning of their careers, losing opportunities to gain hands-on experience and job training can have a major long-term impact. This fact sheet helps to make the case for a continued investment in our K-12 CTE programs. 

Postsecondary CTE and the Economic Recovery Fact Sheet

One study estimates that 60 percent of job losses may be temporary [2] while other studies predict a quarter of job losses being permanent. [3] It is imperative that we continue to invest in CTE and workforce systems to ensure individuals can have the opportunity to reskill and upskill to be prepared to re-enter or advance in the post-coronavirus economy.

Link to these fact sheets on your state website and in your presentations. Use them as leave behinds at in-person meetings (if you are having them).  

PROMOTIONAL TOOLS: 

Promotional Toolkit

This promotional toolkit provides recommended newsletter language and social media posts, a blog post and graphics. Use these graphics with the recommended language on your social media channels, in your presentations, on your state website and in your newsletters.

How To Talk about Career Technical Education and Economic Recovery

In this guide, you are provided ways to use the assets, independently or together, in your state and who to communicate with to make the case for CTE.

Brittany Cannady, Digital Media Associate

[1] https://www.stradaeducation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Public-Viewpoint-Report-Week-4.pdf

[2] https://bfi.uchicago.edu/working-paper/covid-19-is-also-a-reallocation-shock/

[3] https://www.philadelphiafed.org/-/media/covid/research-for-equity-in-recovery/how-job-training-matters.pdf?la=en

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This Week in CTE

August 28th, 2020

We have compiled a list of highlights in Career Technical Education (CTE) from this week to share with you.

WEBINAR OF THE WEEK 

Advance CTE hosted the final webinar of our Summer Learning Series: CTE’s Role in the Future of Work and our Economic Recovery. This webinar featured insights on the current economic downturn and how CTE can rise to meet the challenge and ensure each learner is prepared for economic mobility.

You can view the webinar recording and presentation material here. 

STUDENT STORY OF THE WEEK

Keilah Sadler has earned a construction degree from the Metro Community College Career Academy in Nebraska one year after graduating from high school. Taking CTE courses allowed Keilah to develop her future career plans while building self-confidence. Read more about Keilah’s story in this article published by the Omaha World-Herald.

INDUSTRY OF THE WEEK

This week, MxD and the ManpowerGroup released the The Hiring Guide: Cybersecurity in Manufacturing. This hiring guide is a playbook for manufacturing executives, HR departments, educators and policy makers as these groups work together to cultivate a talent pool and workforce to protect the digital interface of the manufacturing industry, now and in the future. Download the guide here. 

TWEET OF THE WEEK

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE OF THE WEEK

This week, the House CTE Caucus hosted a briefing, The Effects of COVID-19 on Career Technical Education. Speakers included a CTE student, CTE instructor, State CTE Director and employer, moderated by Advance CTE’s Meredith Hills, discussed each of their unique perspectives on how they adapted to remote learning, the challenges unique to CTE, and opportunities for the future. 

The panelists included:

– Makenna Glassman – Welding Academy Student, Gateway Technical College, Elkhorn, WI

– Bob Kilmer – Retired Construction and Architecture Instructor, Enumclaw High School, Enumclaw, WA

– Angel Malone – Director of Career and Technical Education, South Carolina Department of Education  

– Public Sector Representative – Apple, Inc.  

RESOURCE OF THE WEEK

Louisiana piloted the Building Employment Skills for Tomorrow (BEST) program in 2018 to expand work-based learning opportunities for learners with disabilities. The BEST program connects learners with disabilities to work-based learning opportunities, equips them with real-world skills through training and provides mentorship to program participants. Louisiana continues to ensure learners with disabilities have the support necessary to participate and succeed in meaningful work-based learning and career readiness activities.

View the policy profile in our Learning that Works Resource Center.

Brittany Cannady, Digital Media Associate

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Career Technical Education’s Vital Role in Economic Recovery

August 20th, 2020

COVID-19 (coronavirus) has affected the most foundational aspects of our society, including our education systems and nation’s economy. With millions of Americans unemployed and some industry sectors shuttered or undergoing rapid transformation, Black and Latinx workers, workers with a high school education or less and female workers have been disproportionately impacted. Now, more than ever, Career Technical Education (CTE) is vital to our nation’s learners, employers and America’s economic recovery.  

While there is great uncertainty about the pandemic’s ongoing and long-term impact on our country, there is certainty that CTE is vital to recovery because of its proven track record. The postsecondary completion rate is nearly doubled for learners in CTE programs (56.8%) compared to all two-year institutions (29%). And 86% of adult CTE learners continue their education or are employed within six months of completing a program. Additionally, about a third of CTE learners are enrolled in programs in leading fields such as health care, information technology and Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) – careers that are especially important during the coronavirus.

Through CTE, displaced workers can upskill and reskill and prepare for reentry into the workforce and employers can find a pipeline of well-qualified talent who can adapt to and thrive in the ever-changing world of work. This is especially important given that after the last recession, the majority of new or replacement jobs went to employees with more than a high school diploma, including 3.1 million jobs that went to those with an associate’s degree or postsecondary certificates. 

As our nation simultaneously continues to fight the pandemic and also begins to respond to the economic downturn that has harmed so many businesses and families, ensuring that equitable access to CTE is part of the solution is a message every policymaker needs to hear. To that end, today, Advance CTE released new tools including a short video to help state CTE leaders make the case for CTE to policymakers and other key stakeholders.

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This Week in CTE

August 14th, 2020

We have compiled a list of highlights in Career Technical Education (CTE) from this week to share with you.

STATE CTE DIRECTOR OF THE WEEK

This week Advance CTE welcomes Elizabeth Bennet! Elizabeth has been a part of the CTE community for 20 years in Massachusetts and now serves as the state’s Associate Commissioner for College, Career and Technical Education. Read more about Elizabeth here.

VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Nebraska CTE has welcomed back their CTE teachers, virtually, with great appreciation and gratitude.

CAREER DEVELOPMENT CONTINUUM OF THE WEEK

Johnson County Public Schools in North Carolina has published and shared their new career development continuum during their recent CTE symposium held for new and returning CTE teachers. This career development continuum highlights career exploration in the early learning years and ensures there are transitions from secondary education to postsecondary attainment to the workforce. 

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE OF THE WEEK

Advance CTE and the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) are continuing to advocate for direct funding for CTE and workforce programs to be included in the next relief package. This would ensure learners are prepared for labor market needs, particularly as the economy begins to rebuild after the pandemic. We need your help to emphasize this message with Congress. Click here to ask your representatives in Congress to support the inclusion of funding for CTE, as provided in the Relaunching America’s Workforce Act, in the next relief package.

RESOURCE OF THE WEEK

Business partnerships are critical to the success of delivering high-quality CTE programs of study, yet building and sustaining meaningful partnerships remains one of the biggest challenges faced by state and local CTE leaders. Advance CTE and Ford Next Generation Learning partnered to host two roundtable discussions (in Nashville, Tennessee and Pinellas County, Florida) with employers, big and small, who are deeply involved in CTE in their communities to learn more about why and how employers can support and strengthen CTE programs. 

In Their Words: Why Business Leaders Support CTE, Career Pathways and Career Academies offers successful strategies and recommendations for other communities as they consider their own employer engagement and recruitment strategies. 

View the resource in our Learning that Works Resource Center.

Brittany Cannady, Digital Media Associate

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