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Advance CTE Fall Meeting Sponsor Blog: Diamond Sponsor, Certiport – Unique Skillbuilding Opportunities through Adobe and Microsoft Office Learner Competitions

Thursday, October 13th, 2022

Student Competitions. What better way to motivate your students than with a little friendly competition?

Each year, Certiport hosts two learner competitions: the Adobe Certified Professional Championship and the Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) Championship. These competitions bring technology certifications to life for your learners, provide them with a positive platform to showcase their skills, and give them a unique opportunity to earn valuable rewards and recognition.

Keep reading to get answers to your questions about these competitions!

What is the MOS Championship?

The Microsoft Office Specialist Championship presented by Certiport, Inc. is a competition that tests students’ skills on Microsoft Office Word, Excel® and PowerPoint®. Top students are invited to represent their respective states at the US National Championship. At the US National Championship, each student competes for National Champion in his or her category.

What is the Adobe Certified Professional Championship?

The Adobe Certified Professional Championship presented by Certiport is a competition that tests students’ design skills using Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. Top students are invited to represent their respective states at the US National Championship where they will create a designated design project for Certiport’s chosen nonprofit client.

How do my learners enter the Championships?

Entry into the MOS and Adobe Championship differs. To enter the MOS Championship, students can participate in the Championship by taking a qualifying Microsoft Office Specialist certification exam and entering their score into the MOS World Championship. There are two qualification periods: the Fall and Spring. At the conclusion of each qualification period, competitors with the top scores will be invited to compete at the MOS US National Championship.

The Adobe Championship requires two steps to qualify. First, a designer must pass one or more of the following exams by the end of the qualifying period:

Second, a designer must also enter an original design project with accompanying source files (Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and/or InDesign) to the submission form on the competition website. Similar to the MOS Championship, there are two qualification periods: the Fall and Spring. At the conclusion of each qualification period, competitors with the top design projects will be invited to compete at the Adobe Certified Professional US National Championship.

What versions of the software are used at the Championship?

The 2023 MOS Championship will include the following six tracks:

At the Adobe Championship, students will be working in the most recently released version of Adobe Creative Cloud. At the event, they’ll be able to work in Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and/or Adobe InDesign.

What are the qualifications to compete?

Anyone may participate in the qualification round of testing, but to participate in the US National and World Championship events, candidates must be students that are enrolled in an approved, degree-seeking academic institution recognized by the state in which it operates. Students must also be between the ages of 13 and 22 (as of June 15 of the competition year).

What kind of exam do competitors take at the competition? Is it the same as the certification exam?

For the MOS Championship, competitors will be taking a completely new exam. Like the certification exam, this will be project based. However, since the competition tests the most advanced students from around the country, candidates are encouraged to study and prepare for topics outside the certification exam. A great way to prepare is to take the Microsoft Office Specialist Expert exams.

For the Adobe Championship, students will not be taking an exam at all. Designers create a project for a non-profit client. This means that competitors will use the skills from the certification exam and apply them in a real-world design scenario.

Looking to promote the competition?

Certiport wants educators to have the materials they need to promote the MOS World Championship in their classroom or school. Visit our Media page to request promotional items, view videos and download your own poster, fliers, press releases and other materials to support your institutions in participating in the MOS World Championship. 

Still have questions? 

Visit https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/Educator-resources/Competitions.aspx 

Certiport wants educators to have the materials they need to promote the MOS World Championship in their classroom, school, or country. Visit our Media page to request promotional items, view videos, and download your own posters, fliers, press releases, and other materials to get your students excited about the MOS World Championship.

Theresa Curtiss, Certiport 

 

By Stacy Whitehouse in Advance CTE Fall Meeting
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Advance CTE Fall Meeting Sponsor Blog: Gold Sponsor, Lincoln Electric – Industry Certifications: Joining Industry and Education Together

Wednesday, October 12th, 2022

There is a welding skills gap, and that could actually mean a couple different things: It could mean there simply are not enough skilled welders to fill the welding careers available, or it could mean there is a disconnect between the skills employers are looking for and the skills applicants actually have. Either way, this gap existing is a real problem in the welding industry today—for both employers and job-seeking welders. 

If the problem is that trained welders do not have the specific skills employers are looking for, then the solution is to examine welding education and find a way to bridge the gap. Educational institutions communicate with the welding industry to understand which skills their students actually need for today’s jobs. Because the industry is constantly changing, the needed skills are constantly changing—which means that this communication between education and industry must be ongoing.

Because Lincoln Electric is heavily involved in both industry and welding education, communication is constantly maintained between the two to improve curriculum and training as the industry evolves. From this, the Lincoln Electric Education Partner Schools (LEEPS) welding program was created.

The LEEPS welding certification program is a partnership with the National Coalition of Certification Centers (NC3), which provides curriculum and learning management resources for students and welders to earn standards-based certifications. These certifications are portable and stackable, which means welders can build their own skill base for specific job requirements by combining the skills and certifications they need for immediate employability.

The LEEPS program creates standardization with the train-the-trainer program. All instructors who teach and certify welding students through a partner school have been through the same training, taken the same tests, and used the same curriculum materials. That means employers can see these certifications and know anyone who earned them was taught the same content in the same way and has passed the same weld tests with the same grading rubric. This kind of consistency helps welders to have documented, proven competencies to show employers; and employers know they can expect this consistency from an institution with a standardized process.

Because this program offers a way to integrate certifications into an existing educational institution, it doesn’t limit students or employers to one area. With a traditional welding school, students all train at a single location and are likely to seek jobs in the same general area. With a program like LEEPS, the same quality welding education is available all over the country, so it’s more accessible to students and employers alike. This means employers can find job applicants in their area with the same qualifications as the job seekers in many states across the U.S. Employers can even set up their own internal training with LEEPS to put their welders on the fast track to certification in the specific areas that are needed in their workplace.

There’s a skills gap in the welding industry, but we can set up our welding education programs to help fix it. With standardized, configurable training, today’s welders can complete valuable certifications in a way that’s both convenient and relevant to the available jobs. By joining industry and education in communication, curriculum can be tailored to meet the needs of both welders and employers in today’s job market.

For more information about our education programs, please visit the Education Solutions section of our website.

Sarah Evans, Education Sales and Marketing Manager, Lincoln Electric 

By Stacy Whitehouse in Advance CTE Fall Meeting
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Advance CTE Fall Meeting Sponsor Blog: Diamond Sponsor, SME – Manufacturing CTE’s Role in Job Creation

Tuesday, October 11th, 2022

In the next decade, job seekers in manufacturing will find plenty of openings. It’s projected that nearly 3.5 million manufacturing jobs will need to be filled in the next 10 years.  The challenge, however, is that there aren’t enough qualified workers to fill the positions. An aging workforce, changing technologies, and misperceptions about the industry all contribute to the shortage. This has serious consequences for the manufacturing industry, which is overwhelmingly not prepared. In fact, nearly nine out of 10 manufacturers say that their company is having problems finding skilled workers in manufacturing. 

When it comes to filling this pipeline of manufacturing talent, state Career Technical Education (CTE) leaders play an essential role in developing the next generation. 

It is important for industry and education to partner together to bring industry-relevant knowledge and skills to the classroom.  Aside from learners, manufacturers are the most important customers of CTE programs, and programs should be aligned with the skills manufacturers need and want.  

It’s critical to embed manufacturers into the education process to ensure the curriculum and equipment aligns with their needs, asking questions such as: What is the market need? Which positions need to be filled? Which machines are you using? Which skills do you require? Which type of training programs do you use? Which certifications do you need?

Matching your state’s programs to local industry needs will ensure well-trained learners from your schools are in demand.  Moreover, it can also lead to other opportunities like on-site tours, mentoring, equipment donations, internships, jobs, and even funding. 

Organizations like the SME Education Foundation can be valuable partners in such a process.  The Foundation’s SME PRIME® program is predicated on partnering private industry with academia to build transformational hands-on manufacturing education experiences.  Informed by private industry, SME PRIME builds customized manufacturing and engineering programs in high schools across the country, providing equipment, curriculum, professional development, scholarships and STEM-focused extra-curricular activities to learners and teachers. 

Last year, the SME Education Foundation partnered with the Michigan Department of Education to introduce SME PRIME to 16 high schools across the state, engaging 150 manufacturers in the process.  Nationwide, SME PRIME® provides manufacturing and engineering education to more than 81 schools in 22 states, and 89 percent of graduates pursue manufacturing post-graduation. To learn more about SME PRIME®, click here.

The bottom line is that by working together, manufacturers and CTE leaders can move forward together and create limitless opportunities for a generation of learners. 

Rob Luce, Vice President SME Education Foundation, SME

By Stacy Whitehouse in Uncategorized
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Advance CTE Fall Meeting Sponsor Blog: Gold Sponsor, MBA Research and Curriculum Center – Ethics in Action to Move Forward Together and Create Limitless Opportunity

Tuesday, October 11th, 2022

MBA Research partners with state Career Technical Education (CTE) Directors to provide resources for schools that help build high-quality business programs preparing learners with the skills and knowledge needed for success in the workplace. 

By nature, educators are deeply attuned to the needs of their learners—and often even the needs of their families. But these days, many educators are navigating how to respond to the often-increased needs and greater numbers of crises within (and sometimes outside of) their classroom ecosystems. Where is the game plan for—as we are frequently reminded—these unprecedented times?

Recently, I heard a story on NPR’s StoryCorps. Tesia Williams tells the story of being a first-generation college student intent on making her family proud of her work at the Pentagon. When the Pentagon was struck on 9/11, she ran outside with her colleagues. She described how several of her colleagues then reentered the Pentagon to help rescue others, but she did not. Tesia described feeling frozen and in shock, with her feet rooted firmly to the ground. She said that for years she felt ashamed of her lack of action. 

On the podcast, Tesia was sharing this personal story with her adopted daughter, Mikayla. Tesia explained that those events were what laid the foundation for her decision to adopt Mikayla and her younger sister. She said that when she got news that a good friend had passed away, leaving two girls orphaned, Tesia recognized that moment as her time to “step in”—to become unfrozen, to take action.

Educators don’t have time to freeze, or even slow down. They have to keep moving—and it’s our job to help them. It’s our moment to provide the tools educators need to make differences every day in the lives of their students. This, in turn, will help shape the next generation into well-rounded, productive citizens of the world.

One way that state CTE leaders can help educators respond in an ever-increasingly complicated world is to provide them with curriculum—a plan of action—that helps learners develop a framework for choosing between right and wrong, responsible and irresponsible, ethical and unethical. Developing an ethical framework, as well as ethical leadership skills, can help learners establish sound footing, refocus, and move forward in this increasingly complex world. These ethics-related skills cross all industry sectors and provide an opportunity for CTE to assume a leadership role in delivering ethics-based education. Over one million students world-wide have been exposed to these materials!

Take a look at MBA Research’s free ethics education materials at the middle school, high school, and community college levels. We have resources with ready-made, ready-to-teach lesson plans that allow teachers to spend less energy developing lessons and more energy guiding students to recognize their full potential and embrace a future of limitless opportunity.

Holly Atha, President/CEO, MBA Research & Curriculum Center

HollyA@MBAResearch.org

 

 

By Stacy Whitehouse in Advance CTE Fall Meeting
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Advance CTE Fall Meeting Sponsor Blog: Diamond Sponsor, YouScience – Moving forward together: The Southern Oregon Education Service District aligns CTE programs with local job demands

Thursday, October 6th, 2022

The Southern Oregon Education Service District (SOESD) is taking a proactive approach to better align CTE programs with learners’ abilities and local economic needs. 

The SOESD covers 13 school districts in three counties. It set out to determine if area Careeer Technical Education (CTE) programs were aligned with labor needs. It found strong alignment with some of the area’s most in-demand jobs, for example, between CTE offerings and the area’s demand for truck drivers (via transportation CTE courses) as well as for advanced manufacturing. But it found a deficit between CTE programs and the need for healthcare and construction workers.

It set out to tackle how to fill programs with the most-interested learners. Previously, some courses were full while others had enrollments as low as 30 percent. 

Maximizing recruitment for CTE programs

To maximize recruitment and show learners they could excel at and enjoy careers they may have never pictured themselves in, the SOESD moved away from traditional interest-based college and career readiness solutions to YouScience Discovery, an aptitude-based solution.

Learners take the Discovery assessment — starting in the eighth grade — to uncover their work-based aptitudes, interests, and matching career pathways. The assessment revealed that learners in Oregon have more aptitude than interest in high-demand area careers.

Learners in Oregon have more aptitude than interest in high-demand area careers. Data based on anonymized internal YouScience Discovery results for 2,420 learners in Oregon from the 2021 school year.

Educators access reporting to see learners’ aptitudes- and interests- based career pathways and recruit learners into best-fit high school CTE programs. 

A sample YouScience Discovery Clusters Match report that shows educators a learners’ top three career cluster matches by aptitudes and interests and that can be used to recruit learners to CTE programs.

“We meet individually with each learner, and we can say ‘here’s what you’re good at and here’s what you’re interested in,’” said Adam Randall, CTE coordinator for Henley High School. “So, when the counselors come in, they can say ‘here are all the entry-level freshman classes you should sign up for and in this order, based on your aptitudes and interests.’”

The result of using aptitudes to guide CTE enrollments resulted in some entry-level classes filling past capacity at Henley High School where Randall is based. Area enrollment overall has increased up to 160 percent. 

A repeatable approach to driving CTE enrollment

The SOESD’s approach of driving CTE enrollment with aptitude-based guidance can be replicated anywhere. Discovery is available for schools nationwide. And a national student ability report points to a wide gap between learners’ aptitudes and interests that school boards and educators can leverage to ensure learners are on their best-fit educational and career pathways. 

Learn more about the SOESD using YouScience Discovery, request a demo, or contact YouScience.

Kelly McNulty, Content Marketing Manager, YouScience

By Stacy Whitehouse in Advance CTE Fall Meeting
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Advance CTE Fall Meeting Sponsor Blog: Platinum Sponsor, Oracle Academy – Tools for Career Technical Education and Learning that Works

Wednesday, October 5th, 2022

As Oracle’s global philanthropic educational program, Oracle Academy is open to educators around the world to advance technology education, skills, innovation, diversity and inclusion. We offer academic institutions and their educators free teaching and learning resources ― including curriculum, cloud, software, and educator professional development ― that help prepare millions of students with hands-on practice and career-relevant skills.

In my role as Sr. Regional Director for North America, I have the opportunity to work with Career Technical Education (CTE) leaders from all over the nation ― learning, sharing ideas, celebrating successes, and understanding challenges. In return, I share information on Oracle Academy teaching and learning resources that CTE leaders can encourage educators to use to help elevate CTE student success and overcome those challenges. Our resources have met the requirements under the Carl D. Perkins Act since 2006, and states have adopted our teaching and learning resources for use in professional development and curriculum design. 

Learn more about us below!

As a means to continue the good work of preparing students with career-relevant knowledge and skills, Oracle Academy has developed new resources and tools that are available to Oracle Academy members:

At Oracle Academy, we understand and value CTE leaders and educators as collaborators and partners. In North America, we engage with hundreds of educational institutions, offering teaching and learning resources to support CTE student success.

Learn more at www.academy.oracle.com.

Denise Hobbs, Senior Regional Director, Oracle Academy North America
denise.hobbs@oracle.com

By Stacy Whitehouse in Advance CTE Fall Meeting
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Advance CTE Fall Meeting Sponsor Blog: Gold Sponsor, ECMC Foundation – Investing in CTE Means Nobody Gets Left Behind 

Tuesday, October 4th, 2022

The past few years have brought immense change to the economic mobility landscape. While some Americans experienced record high gains in the stock market, millions more experienced unemployment, eviction, and personal financial setbacks with potentially long-term effects. Bearing the brunt of these economic shocks were people of color and women, groups that have long been excluded from access to economic opportunities.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion is a stated priority for many employers, funders, and policymakers, but one area where investment could fuel broad-based economic mobility is too often overlooked: Career Technical education (CTE). 

State CTE leaders are advancing true investments in our diversity by designing economically supportive education and training systems that allow all learners, with their myriad interests and skills, to pursue a career pathway that works for them and their families, while contributing to a thriving economy that benefits all of us. 

The process of exploring new careers and developing skillsets that put students closer to their goals is not always straightforward. And for those with limited resources, this process becomes a high stakes decision. By investing in CTE, which provides hands-on training and real-world experience, we can ensure that every student can take a learning journey that’s right for them.

CTE is a priority investment area for ECMC Foundation. Some of our partners lead projects that serve twenty students at a time, while others impact thousands. Building an equitable system that works for all learners means investing in solutions that work for groups large and small. By investing in CTE, in all its many forms, we’re able to support educational experiences tailored to individual passions and provide supports directly responsive to students’ backgrounds and needs. 

Despite efforts to better serve underrepresented students in the postsecondary field, too many learners lack access to the education and training opportunities they want and need. This reality is not just seen in student datasets—we can see it in our everyday lives. The agenda for Advance CTE’s Fall Meeting includes sessions that urge us to deeply engage with the needs of rural learners, learners with disabilitiesNative learners, justice-connected learners, and learners needing basic needs supports. Ensuring the needs and experiences of these communities and other underrepresented groups are represented in our priorities and our professional circles is central to our work ahead. 

ECMC Foundation supported this event to ensure that discussions during the breakout sessions sustain the integration of supports and visibility for these learner groups in CTE. We thank state CTE leaders across the country for applying the time, energy, and strategic advocacy on behalf of such groups, which will generate the permanent systems change needed to support all learners. 

Thank you for bringing your expertise and commitment to the world of CTE. You are not only investing in the diversity of CTE students, but in the diversity of their dreams. 

Anna Fontus, Program Officer, ECMC Foundation

Anna Fontus is a Program Officer at ECMC Foundation where she oversees a portfolio of grants centered on innovative approaches to postsecondary CTE including apprenticeships, career oriented associate degree programs, and leadership development. ECMC Foundation accepts and reviews Letters of Inquiry on a rolling basis. Visit https://ecmcfoundation.org/ to learn more!

By Stacy Whitehouse in Advance CTE Fall Meeting
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Advance CTE Fall Meeting Sponsor Blog: Diamond Sponsor, Center for Energy Workforce Development – Seeking a Skilled, Diverse Workforce for America’s Clean Energy Future

Monday, October 3rd, 2022

The energy industry powers life. Business, education, healthcare, and even many of our favorite pastimes are made possible by the energy industry. More than six million people work in energy careers in the United States. These men and women are highly trained, highly skilled and in high-demand. Their roles range from future-focused innovators and engineers exploring new ways to harness and store power to skilled tradespeople, who are the backbone of the industry’s operations. The work of these professionals is essential and rewarding. Because of the knowledge and skills that are required, energy employees are well compensated, often earning above national averages. Energy professionals are proudly leading the country’s attainment of climate change goals while maintaining energy reliability, resiliency, safety and affordability. 

The industry expects to fill hundreds of thousands of positions in the next few years. Industry growth, retirement by tenured employees, and traditional attrition are opening doors for a new workforce seeking stable employment in an essential industry that offers training, mentoring, and on-the-job professional development experiences. The energy sector seeks to prioritize diversity, equity and inclusion for its workforce as it continues to grow.  

With so many different jobs in energy, it can be tough to navigate where and how to start a career journey. There are a tremendous number of career pathways available in the skilled trades, for instance. Learners and career explorers often ask how they should prepare themselves. More specifically, they are curious about postsecondary requirements, including opportunities available from local technical schools and apprenticeships, and what’s possible right after high school. The simple answer is all these avenues can lead to successful energy careers. Yet, they each start you in a different place. The industry is equally reliant on those with degrees and those who prefer to learn through on-the-job training and experience.

The Center for Energy Workforce Development (CEWD) is a non-profit organization driven by electric, natural gas, nuclear, and renewable energy companies, trade associations, large contractors, and unions. It also unites strategists from industry, education, government, and communities to ensure the industry balances workforce supply and demand to build the necessary talent pipeline. 

We offer several resources to support state CTE leaders in leveraging CTE programs to develop learner experiences and pathways in energy careers. . In addition, some states have a specific energy Career Cluster devoted to preparation for this sector. CTE also provides opportunities to earn stackable certificates, industry-recognized credentials, and degrees as outlined by the Center for Energy Workforce Development’s Get Into Energy website. CEWD also offers a curriculum, Energy Industry Fundamentals, specifically designed to develop the energy workforce of tomorrow and ensure CTE leaders have essential educational tools and resources readily available. 2-3 sentences of what you have worked with a state to do (may be helping them develop a career cluster, aligning energy curriculum with state standards of learning ,etc. 

CEWD welcomes you to join us in developing the energy workforce of the future.  It starts today!

Missy Henriksen, Executive Director, Center for Energy Workforce Development 

 

By Stacy Whitehouse in Advance CTE Fall Meeting
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Advance CTE Fall Meeting Sponsor Blog: Gold Sponsor, NOCTI – Navigating Uncertain Times

Friday, September 23rd, 2022

This post is written by NOCTI, a Gold Level sponsor of the 2022 Advance CTE Fall Meeting.

A “black swan” event is an unpredictable occurrence beyond what is normally expected of a situation, often with severe consequences. While the entire educational environment was impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, Career Technical Education (CTE), which focuses on hands-on learning, was heavily impacted by this black swan event.  In addition to navigating the perils of COVID-19, CTE experienced instructor shortages and concerns about the limited related work experience of those available for these positions. Though many states have relevant, standardized, industry-identified competencies, the associated curriculum must be delivered by individuals with a solid understanding of the field, which is generally based on work experience. In some cases, these concerns can result in a reduction of content depth delivered in a CTE classroom. 

How does the CTE community respond to these kinds of events? What can states, teacher preparation systems, schools, and administrators do to increase equity and access to CTE programs as well as maintain high-quality program content and delivery? To address these variables would take more space than this blog offers, but we can describe three tools offered by NOCTI and Nocti Business Solutions (NBS). 

Let’s start with a focus on a teacher candidate’s technical skill competence. NBS offers assessments that are used in the hiring process. These assessments can be used to verify a candidate’s experience, determine a candidate’s fit to a position, and establish an employee’s professional development plan upon hire. Using these assessments longitudinally can provide additional information to those hiring CTE teachers.

The second tool is a credentialing assessment developed by NOCTI and several other associations, entitled “Principles of CTE Teaching”. The credential offers two levels and establishes an individual’s understanding of CTE pedagogy and covers student management techniques, facility management and safety, teaching, and both formative and summative assessment strategies. 

The final tool developed by NOCTI, micro-credentials, gathers the collective knowledge of seasoned CTE instructors and subject matter experts. NOCTI utilized longitudinal data across a variety of industries to identify areas in which CTE learners were having difficulty. NOCTI then worked with instructors to design short video segments to address these specific areas. The resulting content segments are available 24/7 and can be viewed repeatedly in both synchronous and asynchronous settings. Micro-credentials can be used in a variety of situations and can be an effective tool to reinforce an instructor’s content knowledge. 

Acting without deliberate planning can exacerbate problems and pondering an issue without action rarely helps anyone progress. NOCTI’s tools were designed to assist in the expansion of the CTE community and represent thoughtful actions to inspire state CTE leaders to address instructor pipeline challenges and empower new instructors to be successful in CTE.  Please reach out to us to find out more at nocti@nocti.org.

Dr. John C. Foster, President and CEO, NOCTI & NBS 

 

By Stacy Whitehouse in Advance CTE Fall Meeting
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Why is Credentialing Important?

Thursday, March 26th, 2015

This blog series provides readers with insight on the valuable content that is being shared at the NASDCTEc Spring Meeting. Guest bloggers are partner organizations, supporters and other experts that will be present at the national gathering in Washington, D.C. in April. 

It is crucial, now more than ever, that students are preparing for the workforce along with the prospect of a college education simultaneously. The ever-developing and changing job market united with a flexible and adaptive education system is closing the significant skills gap between employers and qualified workers. There is concern that students are not entering the workforce with an adequate skills set that prepares them for success. According to a report from Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce, by 2020, 65% of all jobs will require postsecondary education and training. This skills gap between education and the workforce has caused a shift toward the importance of credentialing and additional training that is more comprehensive in order to meet the needs of employers and the U.S. work industry as a whole.

Career and technical education (CTE) programs are at the front of the initiative to create students that are career ready. CTE programs provide a basis for students to acquire technical and academic skills that are necessary for successful and long-term employment. Classroom education with hands-on training prepares students for the real work they will be completing in their career fields or as they work through and continue their educations at the collegiate level. Applying concepts and skills in lab, workshop, or actual work settings provides tangible learning experiences for students to build their knowledge base. As a result, students are better able to align their educations, and subsequently their skills, with their preferred career pathways. Successful CTE programs are complemented by the opportunity for students to obtain industry recognized credentials that are beneficial for students as they build resumes and portfolios for the future. Credentials provide proof of knowledge and verify a student’s capability to perform a particular trade, skill, or occupation. Credentialing opportunities bring value to CTE programs because they validate the education and training these programs provide as well as give students incentive for further achievement.

For entry-level employment, credentials are a good predictor of success and achievement for students who are seeking their first time jobs, apprenticeships or internships. Employers are able to easily identify what degree of competence potential employees possess. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment for workers ages 16 to 24 rests at nearly 12%, and with nearly 18.1 million people entering the workforce under the age of 24, students require a way to show they have the desired technical and employability skills in a competitive job market. Industry recognized credentials and other certifications are a good way for students to make themselves more marketable to employers who are looking to invest in long-term, qualified workers. Leaving high school with more than a high school diploma is now a valuable means toward success upon entering a career field or continuing on to a two-year or four-year college or university.

Specific industry recognized credentials can give students better understanding of associated career pathways and college programs while other credentials provide general training essential to all 16 Career Clusters and beyond. Industry recognized credentials like ones offered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) play a critical role in preparing students for the hazards and risks associated with various career fields and pathways. Through a partnership with OSHA, the CareerSafe Online program is committed to providing workplace safety training for students prior to their first jobs. The safety curriculum aligns with all 16 Career Clusters and can be easily implemented into any CTE program. It gives students an advantage moving forward toward post-secondary schooling or employment opportunities. With completion of CareerSafe OSHA 10-Hour safety training, students receive an industry recognized credential verifying that they have received workplace safety training. Students that have completed the CareerSafe program have experienced increased economic flexibility and employment opportunities over their peers that do not hold credentials. Feedback from educators across the country proves that industry recognized credentialing, like OSHA credentialing, makes a difference in the employment opportunities and wages of their students. Many CTE educators reveal that their students have been guaranteed jobs immediately upon their high school graduation and therefore have the ability to establish careers or have an opportunity to pay for further education without creating a large amount of student debt.

Credentialing opportunities can and should be easily accessible because of their added value to students as they complete their high school educations. The use of credentials will increase the likelihood of skilled, competent, and knowledgeable students entering the workforce. With career readiness as an integral part of education, students will be confident in their abilities to be successful.

If you would like to offer your students credentialing opportunities with CareerSafe or learn more about implementing a safety curriculum in your classroom, please visit, www.careersafeonline.com.

Written by Stacy Riley, CareerSafe Online

Thank you to CareerSafe for sponsoring the 2015 NASDCTEc Spring Meeting!

Sources: 

Foster, C. John & Sandra G. Pritz (2006). “The Certification Advantage.” Techniques. January, 14-20.
Hyslop, Alisha (2008). “CTE’s Role in Workforce Readiness Credentialing.” Techniques. September, 40-43.
Molnar, Michele (2014). “Career and Technical Education Gains Ground in Many States.” Education Week. April.
Muller, D. Robert & Alexandra Beatty. “Work Readiness Certification and Industry Credentials: What do State High School Policy Makers Need To Know?” Measures That Matter, 1-16.

By admin in Advance CTE Spring Meeting, Resources
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