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Strengthening Career Readiness Systems through New Skills for Youth: A Look Back at States’ Impact

Wednesday, December 11th, 2019

Under Kentucky’s new program approval and review process, schools and districts can use state and federal funding to support career pathways only if their programs are aligned with priority industries or top occupations. This is just one of the strategies Kentucky used under the New Skills for Youth (NSFY) initiative to transform and phase out virtually every career pathway that was not well aligned with labor market demand.

From 2016 through 2019, Kentucky and nine other states in the NSFY initiative received $2 million and hands-on technical assistance and coaching to strengthen their career readiness systems. As part of the NSFY initiative, a $75 million national initiative developed by JPMorgan Chase & Co, the Council of Chief State School Officers, Advance CTE and Education Strategy Group worked with states to improve their career readiness systems.

Through NSFY, Delaware, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Wisconsin took action to:

Develop and scale high-quality career pathways: Massachusetts designed and launched a new initiative to expand access to high-quality college and career pathways (HQCCPs). HQCCPs include Innovation Pathways, which connect student learning to broadly defined, in-demand industry sectors, and Early College programs, which enable students to earn at least 12 college credits in high school.
Expand access to work-based learning opportunities: Louisiana piloted the Building Employment Skills for Tomorrow program in Bossier Parish in 2018 to connect learners with disabilities to work-based learning opportunities, equip them with real-world skills through training, and provide mentorship to program participants.
Strengthen data and accountability to incentivize career readiness: Ohio’s school report cards include a summative score for the Career & Postsecondary Readiness indicator and break down how learners achieved readiness by reporting the percentage of learners that earned industry-recognized credentials, completed dual enrollment, completed a pre-apprenticeship and more.
Lay the foundation for sustaining career readiness efforts: In 2017, Nevada, with support from the Nevada Department of Education, the governor and the Legislature, enacted six major policies to lay the foundation for a statewide career readiness system.

The impact of these states across the entire initiative is highlighted in the NSFY Impact Snapshots and NSFY Impact Summary, which examines the state role in catalyzing and transforming career readiness opportunities for youth.

Through NSFY, 10 states demonstrated the importance of strong state leadership to advance career readiness by setting a clear vision and agenda, catalyzing and scaling pathways and work-based learning, and ensuring access and equity in career readiness opportunities. As a result, the impact of the states was far-reaching. For instance, under NSFY Delaware was able to develop 19 career pathway programs in high-demand occupations and Tennessee was able to ensure that 100 percent of high school students have access to at least four early postsecondary courses.

To learn more about the work states completed under the NSFY initiative, register for Advance CTE’s A Look Back at States’ Impact through the New Skills for Youth Initiative webinar, which will take place on December 12 from 1-2 p.m. EST, and download the NSFY Impact Snapshots here.

Brianna McCain, Policy Associate

By admin in Publications
Tags: career pathways, Data and Accountability, Delaware, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Skills for Youth, NSFY, Ohio, Oklahoma, rhode island, sustainability, tennessee, wisconsin, work-based learning

Three Promising Approaches to Advance Equity in CTE

Monday, June 17th, 2019

State leaders have a critical responsibility to ensure each learner has opportunities for career success and is supported in identifying and realizing his or her goals. To help state leaders identify and dismantle historical barriers and construct systems that support each learner in accessing, feeling welcome in, fully participating in and successfully completing a high-quality Career Technical Education (CTE) program of study, Advance CTE launched its Equity in CTE initiative last spring.

As part of this initiative, Advance CTE has committed to developing resources to help state leaders close equity gaps in CTE. To provide state leaders with promising practices, Advance CTE added three new equity-focused policy profiles to the Learning that Works Resource Center. These highlight effective practices at the state and institutional levels.

The new Advance CTE profiles explore promising programs in the following states:

Louisiana: Building Employment Skills for Tomorrow (BEST) Pilot Program: Louisiana piloted the BEST program in 2018 to expand work-based learning opportunities for learners with disabilities.
Oklahoma: Diversity and Inclusion Training Program: The Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education created the position of state-level equity and diversity specialist in 2016 as part of its senior leadership team. The focus of this position is to provide diversity trainings in both the secondary and postsecondary systems.
Wisconsin: Fox Valley Technical College Cultural Support Specialists: The Cultural Support Specialists in Wisconsin help learners transition from high school to college by advocating for and providing services to learners to help them overcome some of the structural barriers that can prevent at-risk learners from accessing and succeeding in college.

To learn more about promising solutions to help state leaders close equity gaps in CTE, read Advance CTE’s Making Good on the Promise series.

Brianna McCain, Policy Associate

By admin in Uncategorized
Tags: Equity and Access, Louisiana, Oklahoma, wisconsin

Advance CTE Report Describes How State Leaders Can Build Trust with Historically Marginalized Communities

Tuesday, January 15th, 2019

Throughout history, and continuing today, learners of color, low-income learners, female learners and learners with disabilities have been historically tracked into terminal vocational programs leading to jobs with uncertain promise of economic growth and prosperity. To help state leaders recognize these historical barriers and adopt promising solutions to close equity gaps in CTE, Advance CTE launched a series of policy briefs titled Making Good on the Promise. The first briefs in the series explored the history of inequities in CTE and highlighted promising practices from states that are using data to identify and address access and achievement gaps by different learner populations.

Building off these briefs, the third brief in the series, Making Good on the Promise: Building Trust to Promote Equity in CTE, maps out steps state leaders can take to rebuild trust in marginalized communities that CTE historically failed to serve equitably. The brief outlines five steps state leaders can take to build trust in communities that do not view CTE as a viable mechanism to help them achieve their college and career goals:

Acknowledge that inequity is a problem;
Promote a culture that values equity and diversity within the state agency and instructor workforce;
Commit to transparency and advancing only high-quality CTE programs of study;
Implement strategies to gain buy-in from communities and stakeholders; and
Celebrate, lift up and replicate successful programs of study and practices.

To helps states with these steps, the brief features state examples from Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Idaho and Nebraska and draws on messaging data from Advance CTE’s The Value and Promise of Career Technical Education: Results from a National Survey of Parents and Students:

In Oklahoma, the Department of Career and Technology Education created an equity and diversity specialist position in 2016 to provide diversity training to agency staff, teachers and administrators to promote equity through the secondary and postsecondary systems.
In Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS) formed the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Work Group to promote equity in WTCS.

Brianna McCain, Policy Associate

By admin in Publications, Resources
Tags: Access and Equity, Idaho, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Oklahoma, wisconsin

CTE and Workforce Systems Alignment: Lessons Learned from States

Tuesday, October 16th, 2018

Aligning systems is one of five key principles of the shared vision, Putting Learner Success First. System alignment can ensure a shared vision and commitment to seamless college and career pathways for every learner; by maximizing resources, reducing inefficiencies and holding systems accountable, every learner can have the supports they need to find success.

The recent enactment of the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V), the reauthorization of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins IV), presents new opportunities to align Career Technical Education (CTE) and state workforce systems to strengthen and expand opportunities for learners. States have taken different approaches to align CTE and the workforce systems, from submitting Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) combined state plans with Perkins IV as a partner program to establishing strong connections between CTE and the workforce systems via strategic partnerships and plans. As states think about improving the effectiveness of this connection, it’s critical to reflect on and learn from states’ efforts to enhance CTE and workforce system alignment.

To inform this post, Advance CTE interviewed several State CTE Directors to learn about how they align CTE and workforce systems in their respective states. Below are key takeaways from those conversations and highlights of a few state examples.

Approaches to Promoting CTE and Workforce Systems Alignment
While states take different approaches to aligning CTE and workforce systems depending on their needs, some common approaches to aligning CTE and workforce systems emerged.

Local advisory boards: Many states leverage local employer advisory boards to inform CTE programs. For instance, Pennsylvania has a state mandate that requires all secondary schools and Perkins recipients to engage local workforce development boards to inform their programming.
Shared goals: Other states establish shared strategic targets and goals across the education and workforce systems. In Washington, the Workforce Training and Education Board is responsible for the administration of Perkins and WIOA, which allows the state to easily set goals for Perkins and WIOA that align. Even though Washington does not have a WIOA combined state plan with Perkins IV as a partner program, its state workforce plan has included CTE in its strategy for more than thirty years and state law requires WIOA and Perkins plans to align. As a result, Washington makes it a point to establish Perkins performance goals that align with WIOA goals.
Strategic Initiatives: States also align CTE and workforce systems through strategic initiatives. In Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Works initiative aligns resources, education, training and job opportunities to promote workforce development in the state. Through this initiative, Oklahoma examines education, workforce and economic data to ensure that programs of study align with labor market data. Ensuring that CTE programs of study have labor market relevance is a key strategy for aligning CTE and workforce systems.

Systems Alignment Sustainability
Trend data from Advance CTE surveys since 2005 suggests that coordination between CTE and other state initiatives is more common when there is an external forcing event, such as state or federal legislation that triggers a statewide planning process. As states expand upon or strengthen their work to align CTE and workforce systems, they must consider how they will sustain systems alignment even when these statewide planning processes conclude.

Some states, such as West Virginia, established CTE and workforce systems alignment sustainability through building partnership infrastructure. West Virginia has a WIOA combined state plan with Perkins IV as a partner program, which helps to promote collaboration between the CTE and workforce systems. Representatives from the West Virginia Division of Technical, Adult and Institutional Education (WV-CTE) serve on the WIOA State Board and helped to develop the state goals articulated in the WIOA combined state plan. Representatives attend a quarterly WIOA group that meets to ensure that the state is making progress on the goals articulated in its WIOA plan.

Additionally, WV-CTE has a Governor’s Economic Initiative office within it that ensures CTE programs of study are aligned to industry needs and developed collaboratively between business, industry and education. West Virginia is able to sustain its CTE and workforce systems alignment through establishing statewide goals via the WIOA combined state plan, clearly defining roles through committees and establishing routine accountability checks.

Conclusion
CTE and workforce systems alignment is necessary to ensure that learners are on a path to securing in-demand, high-wage careers. While the state examples in this resource showcase the importance of elevating partnerships and collaboration to achieve alignment, CTE and workforce systems alignment can take many different forms. A state’s approach to CTE and workforce systems alignment should be guided by its state vision, goals and infrastructure.

Brianna McCain, Policy Associate

By admin in Uncategorized
Tags: Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Perkins, Putting Learner Success First, systems alignment, washington, West Virginia, WIOA, WIOA Alignment

California, Oklahoma and Virginia Invest in CTE

Friday, September 28th, 2018

The majority of 2018 state legislative sessions have come to a close. During these legislative sessions, states enacted budgets that illustrate a continued commitment to invest in Career Technical Education (CTE) and opportunities for learners to earn credentials that translate into high-skill, in-demand occupations.

In California, Governor Jerry Brown signed a Fiscal Year 2018-2019 budget that invests millions in CTE-related programs and initiatives. The budget includes $164 million ongoing funds to establish a K-12 specific component within the Strong Workforce Program, an initiative that aims to improve CTE programs and increase the number of learners enrolled in CTE programs that culminate in high-wage, in-demand jobs. The budget also includes $6.7 million in funds to offer 338 additional CTE programming slots and to expand CTE to thirteen additional sites in California.

Additionally, the budget provides $100 million one-time and $20 million ongoing funds to establish a statewide online community college. Currently, 2.5 million adults in California between the ages of 25 to 34 only have a high-school diploma, despite an estimated 65 percent of jobs requiring some form of postsecondary education and training beyond high school by 2020. The online community college will provide a cost-effective way for working adults in that age range to earn short, career ready credentials.

In Oklahoma, Governor Mary Fallin signed a Fiscal Year 2019 budget that increases the amount of funds appropriated to the State Board of Career and Technology Education by more than $12 million when compared to last year’s budget. This investment aligns with the the state’s efforts to build and strengthen career pathways through the Oklahoma Works initiative, which aligns education, resources, training and job opportunities to bolster Oklahoma’s workforce.

Virginia’s 2018-2020 biennial budget provides an additional $2 million in grant funding each year for the New Economy Workforce Credential Grant Program. This program, created in 2016, covers up to two-thirds of the cost of a noncredit workforce training program, requires the Board of Workforce Development to maintain a list of credentials and noncredit workforce training programs in high-demand fields, and encourages participating institutions to award academic credit for credentials earned.

Brianna McCain, Policy Associate

By admin in Uncategorized
Tags: budget, California, Oklahoma, Virginia

New Resources: Designing Meaningful Career-Ready Indicators (Part 2)

Tuesday, August 21st, 2018

Earlier this summer, Advance CTE in partnership with Education Strategy Group (ESG) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), released two profiles highlighting how states were integrating career-ready indicators into their accountability systems, specifically Progress towards Post-High School Credential and Assessment of (college and career) Readiness.

Today, we are releasing the final two of these profiles aligned with the remaining categories in Destination Known: Valuing College AND Career Readiness in State Accountability Systems: Co-Curricular Learning and Leadership Experiences and Transitions Beyond High School. The Co-curricular Learning and Leadership Experiences profile focuses on how states like Georgia, Oklahoma and South Carolina are measuring work-based learning within their accountability system, while the Transitions Beyond High School profile explores how Colorado and Missouri are holding schools accountable for learners’ post-high school success in college and careers. While these are newer indicators and less likely to be included in states’ accountability systems, they are a critical to measuring college and career readiness in learners.

Read all four of the Career-Focused Indicator Profiles here and stay tuned for an update to Making Career Readiness Count (3.0) soon:

Kate Kreamer, Deputy Executive Director

By Kate Blosveren Kreamer in Advance CTE Resources, Uncategorized
Tags: accountability, Colorado, Every Student Succeeds Act, Georgia, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, work-based learning

Tackling Rural CTE Challenges on Capitol Hill

Thursday, August 2nd, 2018

What can state leaders do to expand access to high-quality career technical education (CTE) in rural communities? That was the focus of an event held last Thursday by the Congressional CTE Caucus, in coordination with Advance CTE.

The event featured state and local leaders from diverse geographies, who shared their experiences with delivering CTE in rural communities, highlighting both barriers and best practices. The co-chairs of the Congressional CTE Caucus, Representatives Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA) and Jim Langevin (D-RI), also stopped by the event to provide remarks about the value of CTE and weigh in on the state of rural CTE.

As Representative Thompson (R-PA), who comes from a largely rural area in Pennsylvania, noted at the beginning of the event, “CTE restores rungs on the ladder of opportunity. We need to make sure that we are dealing with the barriers,” so that CTE can help close opportunity gaps and extend a bridge to lifelong career success. However, rural communities often face obstacles like scarce resources, critical teacher shortages and a limited employer base that make it difficult to deliver high-quality CTE at scale. As Advance CTE found through their interviews with state CTE leaders, these challenges are common across geographies, yet they are often exacerbated in rural communities (find all of the briefs in the CTE on the Frontier series here).

How can state and local leaders tackle these challenges? During the event, Dr. Marcie Mack — state CTE director for Oklahoma, spoke about Oklahoma’s career-tech system and the value of employer partnerships in rural CTE, particularly with Oklahoma’s technology center districts, which deliver CTE programs to high school, postsecondary, adult and justice-involved students.

We were pleased to also feature on the panel a 2018 Excellence in Action award winner, Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District Career-Tech Center. Stephanie Long, curriculum supervisor for TBAISD, shared about the difficulty of connecting learners from rural districts with the high-quality CTE programming her career-tech center provides. The center serves a region as large as the state of Delaware, with many students traveling hours a day to get to and from classes. The center provides buses during the day and bus passes after school hours to help these learners access high-quality CTE.

Jan Hanlon, executive director for the Mountain State Education Service Cooperative, discussed how West Virginia is tackling access challenges through Simulated Workplace programs. Through Simulated Workplace, more than 24,000 students annually develop real-world skills by participating in a realistic classroom-based company where they have to meet expectations for attendance, safety, sobriety and professionalism, just as they would need if employed by a local business. Representative Langevin (D-RI) of Rhode Island wrapped up the discussion with an important closing thought: “We can’t expect businesses to grow if we don’t have the workforce available.”

As the event’s panelists underscored, CTE is a critical strategy to help rural America adapt to the 21st century economy. The aftershocks of the Great Recession are still being felt in rural America today, where many learners are disconnected from opportunities to reskill and prepare for the jobs of tomorrow. CTE can help these learners build the skills they need for lifelong success and equip them with the knowledge and abilities to adapt to an ever-changing economy.

Austin Estes, Senior Policy Associate

By admin in Meetings and Events
Tags: Congressman Glenn “GT” Thompson, Congressman Jim Langevin, Michigan, Oklahoma, rural, Simulated Workplace, Traverse Bay, West Virginia

The New Fact Sheet on the Role of CTE in Statewide Attainment Goals

Thursday, May 24th, 2018

More than 40 states have set statewide attainment goals for the percentage of adults holding postsecondary degrees or credentials by a certain year. These efforts have been sparked by Lumina Foundation’s 2025 national credential attainment goal – 60 percent of Americans holding a credential beyond a high school diploma by 2025.

Some states have involved Career Technical Education (CTE) from the onset and others are now looking to ensure CTE is part of their overall strategy. The new fact sheet released by Advance CTE explains why and how CTE can be a major driver of postsecondary attainment across the country.

What States Should Do

Count ALL Credentials of Value towards Attainment While many learners in CTE programs do go on to earn two- and four-year degrees, many others earn industry-recognized credentials, many of which have great labor market value. States should recognize these credentials in their attainment targets.
Leverage Secondary CTE to Meet Statewide Attainment Goals: Increasingly, high school students taking a concentration of CTE are just as likely to go on to postsecondary education as their non-CTE peers – and are more likely to enter with workplace experiences and/or industry-recognized credentials. States should include the expansion of CTE pathways and meaningful college and career advising systems as part of their attainment strategy.
Support Postsecondary CTE as a Platform for Credential and Degree Attainment: Postsecondary students enrolled in CTE programs have an average attainment rate of 56.8 percent (counting credentials, certificates and degrees at two-year institutions), well above the average graduation rate for two-year institutions.
Bring CTE to the Table as a Partner: A statewide attainment goal can and should serve as the driver of a state’s economic and workforce vision, of which CTE must be a part.

Read more about how Oklahoma, New Jersey and Tennessee have connected the dots between CTE and statewide attainment goals in the new fact sheet.

Kate Kreamer, Deputy Executive Director

By Kate Blosveren Kreamer in Advance CTE Announcements, Advance CTE Resources
Tags: credentials, New Jersey, Oklahoma, postsecondary

How New Skills for Youth States are Defining Criteria for High-quality Career Pathways

Thursday, May 10th, 2018

What defines a high-quality career pathway? Is it alignment to labor market needs and career opportunities? The quality and qualifications of teachers and faculty? Access to meaningful, aligned work-based learning experiences? Perhaps all of the above?

Defining the the components of high-quality career pathways is a critical priority of the 10 states participating in New Skills for Youth (NSFY), an initiative to transform career pathways and student success by expanding options for high school students. NSFY is a partnership of the Council of Chief State School Officers, Education Strategy Group and Advance CTE, generously funded by JP Morgan Chase & Co.

Today, Advance CTE released a series of snapshots highlighting promising practices and achievements of the 10 NSFY states, including the different approaches each state is taking to define and promote high-quality career pathways.

In Massachusetts, a cross-sector committee developed criteria for high-quality college and career pathways (HQCCP), part of an effort to improve career-readiness opportunities for students in the commonwealth. Massachusetts plans to identify, designate and support two types of high-quality secondary pathways: early college pathways, which enable students to earn up to 12 college credits in high school, and innovation pathways, which are aligned with high-demand industries. The joint committee set a high bar to designate each type of pathway. To officially be recognized as a HQCCP, pathways must:

Provide equitable access;
Be structured around guided academic pathways;
Incorporate enhanced student supports;
Expose students to different career options; and
Be supported by partnerships between at least one institution of higher education, a secondary district or school, and employer partners.

In 2017, Massachusetts began accepting applications to designate HQCCPs, and plans to announce designated sites shortly. These sites will receive support, and in some cases, funding, from the state, and will work together as a community to strengthen meaningful career pathways that are aligned to the joint committee’s HQCCP criteria.

Other NSFY states chose different approaches to defining quality career pathways. Ohio designed a framework for local program administrators to evaluate program quality and make informed decisions about which programs to scale up and which to phase out. The framework is designed using four dimensions: learning environment and culture, business and community engagement, educator collaboration, and pathway design.

Wisconsin took a regional approach through its Pathways Wisconsin pilot. Through the project, which has been rolled out in four regions across the state, regional Pathways Wisconsin directors are working with key stakeholders in their community to identify and recognize different career pathways within priority industry areas.

Defining criteria for high-quality career pathways was a common priority across the NSFY states. Other priorities include:

Expanding meaningful work-based learning opportunities and career advising supports: Rhode Island engaged state business leaders to define and develop learning standards for work-based learning that could be implemented at the high school level. Oklahoma and Wisconsin are implementing new academic and career planning policies.
Engaging employers to help design and validate relevant career experiences and related credentials: With the help of industry partners, Ohio developed a graduation endorsement called the OhioMeansJobs-Readiness Seal, which recognizes students who demonstrate employability skills upon graduation. In Louisiana, state leaders leveraged existing employer networks to establish education subcommittees on regional workforce development boards.
Expanding accountability systems to include a focus on career readiness: As states worked to develop and finalize their ESSA plans, accountability was a priority for NSFY states in 2017. Oklahoma adopted a postsecondary opportunities measure that looks at AP, IB and dual enrollment as well as industry certification and work-based learning. Separately, Kentucky is leveraging the Kentucky Center for Education and Workforce Statistics to identify and validate industry-recognized credentials, which will be valued in its accountability system.
Beginning the work of aligning systems to lay the foundation for sustainability: Tennessee is working to integrate NSFY efforts into Governor Bill Haslam’s Drive to 55 initiative, a widely popular initiative to improve postsecondary access and success. Nevada codified the governor’s Office of Workforce Innovation into state law. Meanwhile, Delaware is working to strengthen Delaware Pathways, a statewide initiative to enhance and expand high-quality career pathways.

To learn more about the pursuits of the NSFY cohort, read the 2017 NSFY Snapshot Executive Summary or download individual state snapshots.

Austin Estes, Senior Policy Associate

By admin in Publications, Resources
Tags: career pathways, Delaware, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Skills for Youth, NSFY, Ohio, Oklahoma, rhode island, tennessee, wisconsin

Getting to Know… Oklahoma

Monday, March 27th, 2017

Note: This is part of Advance CTE’s blog series, “Getting to Know…” We are using this series to help our readers learn more about specific states, State CTE Directors, partners and more.

State Name: Oklahoma

State CTE Director: Dr. Marcie Mack, state director, Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education

About Oklahoma: Oklahoma is home to the Oklahoma CareerTech System and the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education, the state agency that oversees Career Technical Education (CTE) in Oklahoma. The system includes 29 technology center districts — each serving students at both the secondary and postsecondary level — and 395 comprehensive school district with CTE programs; 15 locations for 42 Skills Centers programs for offenders; and business and industry services to more than 7,000 companies annually. The system serves students through more than 500,000 enrollments annually. The Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education is governed by a nine-member, governor-appointed Board of Career and Technology Education. The board operates separately from the Oklahoma State Department of Education and the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, enabling the state to collaborate more intentionally across various agencies.

There is growing enthusiasm for CareerTech in Oklahoma, spurred in part by Gov. Mary Fallin’s Oklahoma Works Initiative — a cross-sector effort to strengthen the state workforce and close the skills gap — and the goal to increase postsecondary education and training attainment to 70 percent of individuals between the ages of 25 and 64 by the year 2025. With such enthusiasm on postsecondary attainment, Oklahoma is optimistic the current 50 percent of students in grades nine through 12 who enroll in CareerTech courses each year will increase as the state works to meet the educational attainment goal.

Programs of Study: Oklahoma’s programs of study are organized into 15 Career Clusters^® that are aligned to the national Career Clusters framework. The board of CTE uses Perkins funds to develop statewide frameworks for many programs of study that local administrators can download and customize to fit the needs of their communities. To support local delivery and ensure that students receive appropriate and timely guidance, in 2015 Oklahoma launched a web-based career guidance platform called OK Career Guide. It provides data and resources to educators, parents and students to facilitate career exploration and enable students to identify and pursue high-quality learning experiences tied to their career interests.

Cross-Sector Partnerships: As an independent body, the Oklahoma Board of CTE has been able to work collaboratively across various agencies and sectors. One such collaboration is with the Department of Corrections. For years, Oklahoma has provided CareerTech opportunities to incarcerated youth and adults through a correctional education system. Approximately 1,600 individuals are served each year through these programs, with a job placement rate of more than 80 percent.

Oklahoma CareerTech also works directly with counterparts in secondary and postsecondary education. Working closely with the State Department of Education, CareerTech ensures high-quality instruction and curriculum throughout CTE programs in sixth through 12th grades. Core to this partnership is the Oklahoma state superintendent’s position as the chairman of the CareerTech board, which helps to facilitate collaboration on efforts such as teacher certification, academic credit and academy approval. At the postsecondary level, the board works with the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education to maintain credit articulation agreements for prior learning assessments, helping to streamline the pathways from secondary to postsecondary education.

Additionally, Oklahoma has strong partnerships with business and industry leaders through technology center business and industry services which provided services to more than 7,000 companies last year. Examples of some of the services include safety training, customized training, Oklahoma Bid Assistance Network, and adult career development to name a few. The statewide Key Economic Networks (KEN) established with Oklahoma Works include representation from regional stakeholders who collaborate to develop, strengthen and expand career pathways. Through regional KENs, Oklahoma has been able to leverage employer insights, reflect on labor market information and encourage strong partnerships at the local level.

On the Horizon: In January 2017, JPMorgan Chase & Co. announced that Oklahoma would be part of a cohort of states focusing on transforming career readiness systems under the New Skills for Youth Initiative. Oklahoma, along with nine other states, will receive $2 million over the next three years to embark on an ambitious statewide effort to improve access to high-quality CTE programs.

Separately, the Oklahoma State Board of Education approved a new accountability framework late in 2016 that aims to count postsecondary opportunities as viable options for the framework, including participation in internships, apprenticeships, industry certifications and dual (concurrent) enrollment. Previously, these indicators were awarded as bonus points only.

Austin Estes, Policy Associate

By admin in Uncategorized
Tags: accountability, CareerTech, Correctional Education, Getting to Know, New Skills for Youth, OK Career Guide, Oklahoma, Oklahoma Works

Posts Tagged ‘Oklahoma’

Strengthening Career Readiness Systems through New Skills for Youth: A Look Back at States’ Impact

Three Promising Approaches to Advance Equity in CTE

Advance CTE Report Describes How State Leaders Can Build Trust with Historically Marginalized Communities

CTE and Workforce Systems Alignment: Lessons Learned from States

California, Oklahoma and Virginia Invest in CTE

New Resources: Designing Meaningful Career-Ready Indicators (Part 2)

Tackling Rural CTE Challenges on Capitol Hill

The New Fact Sheet on the Role of CTE in Statewide Attainment Goals

How New Skills for Youth States are Defining Criteria for High-quality Career Pathways

Getting to Know… Oklahoma

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