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Posts Tagged ‘technical skills’

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CTE in the News: The Transformation of American Factory Jobs, In One Company

Friday, January 13th, 2012

The evolution of a fuel-injector assembly line in Greenfield, South Carolina exemplifies the transformation of the manufacturing workforce taking place across the nation, according to a recent NPR story. Making it in America, the second piece in a two-part series, highlights the new and old demands of the manufacturing industry, which has moved from largely hiring low-skilled workers on the assembly line to high-skilled and more-educated workers.

The stories of the success and looming threats among Standard Motor Products employees buttresses the argument for Career Technical Education (CTE) programs that align to the economy and raises the rigor and skill attainment for its students.

The 92-year-old manufacturer has moved from hiring a workforce that was illiterate and did not earn their high school diploma to one that is more educated and has high skills to run sophisticated machinery.

“ ’Now it’s all finesse’ could be the motto of American manufacturing today. In factories around the country, manufacturing is becoming a high-tech, high-precision business. And not everyone has the finesse to run [these complicated machines],” the article said.

Closing the skills gap between those who can and cannot succeed in this new business remains the challenge.

By admin in News
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Friends of CTE Guest Blog Series: I LOVE MY JOB!

Wednesday, January 11th, 2012

Deanna Lewis serves as the Director for Career & Certification Services with the Home Builders Institute (HBI). Prior to joining HBI’s family in 2001, Lewis’ experiences included teaching at the elementary level where she developed a customized curriculum for transitional first grade students; managing the tri-state (Pennsylvania, New Jersey & Delaware) satellite office of the New York Times; and conducting test score interpretation as a consultant for the College Board.

During a recent visit, my plumber said, “I love my job!” as he was patiently answering my hundred and one questions without slowing down on the task at hand (he was getting paid by the hour). He said this before he gave me the bill. I’m sure he was enjoying his job even more as I wrote the check.

His comment, “I love my job,” left an impression on me. I began to wonder what happened to the passion tradesmen and women used to have for their jobs. That sense of excitement about learning plumbing systems or the concept that a carpenter’s work is his or her art. Is that passion still out there?

Will the Workforce be Ready?

It is predicted that by 2014 careers in the Architecture and Construction Career Cluster will start to resume employment levels like those seen in 2007 and will exceed 2007 levels in 2015.[1] Will the industry have a workforce prepared to meet the demands? Carpenters are listed as one of the 30 occupations with the largest employment growth from 2008-18. The profession is categorized as requiring long-term on-the-job training.[2] Are there a sufficient number of trainees to fill the future demand?

Industry Opportunities – Choosing the Right Path

Construction offers opportunities at every level. It is an industry that still has career opportunities following high school. That does not imply that training stops at that point. Instead, it indicates there are still on-the-job training opportunities available. There are also certificate and two-year programs offered at technical schools and community colleges.  For management-level positions, many companies will require a four-year degree.

That being said, it is predicted that overall, 34 percent of the jobs in the Architecture and Construction Career Cluster™ will require at least some postsecondary education and training by 2018.[1] Now is the time to engage youth. Inform them about the educational requirements to be successful in the industry. HBI currently offers a first step to professionalism through its student certification program, which sets the stage for stackable credentials.[4] The National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium (NASDCTEc) also provides information about the Architecture and Construction Career Cluster™ at http://www.careertech.org/career-clusters/landing-pages/architecture.html.

Educators Making a Difference

Career Technical Education (CTE) has programs in nearly 1,300 public high schools and 1,700 two-year-colleges[3]. HBI is a strong supporter of CTE because it meets our members’ needs and helps students, of all ages, become college and career ready so they have a lifetime of success. CTE programs do an excellent job preparing students for the industry opportunities identified above, but it is clear that instructors go far beyond just preparing students to work.

Stan Sluzenski’s students are bound to be on the right path to becoming industry professionals. Sluzenski, a Building Trades Instructor at St. Croix Regional Technical Center in Calais, Maine, utilizes his resources well to help his students gain respect and experience. He said, “As a teacher, I encounter the need for skilled workers from many different sources, including my local advisory board, community members and industry recruiters.”

The Spokane Home Builders Association in Spokane, Washington, is celebrating 31 years of changing lives and building futures. Kim Waseca-Love, Education/Apprenticeship Director captured the spirit of their program when she said, “Carpentry allows us to express our creative spirit.” Waseca-Love goes on to say, “We also know the feeling of accomplishment that we have when we look at our completed work.” She feels the instructors are the apprenticeship program’s key ingredient. “It is because of their qualifications and passion for the trade that our students are able to acquire all the educational opportunities they need to climb as high as they wish on the residential construction industry’s ladder of success.”

Educators such as Sluzenski and Waseca-Love are leading the charge for a knowledgeable workforce by making sure students interested in the construction industry know…

Just as important, though, they are instilling in their students a crucial passion for the work. It takes time to become a skilled professional in the construction industry. Hopefully, there will be many reaching that status who will chime in with the words . . . “I love my job!”

 

The Friends of CTE Guest Blog Series provides advocates – from business and industry, researchers and organizations – an opportunity to articulate their support for Career Technical Education. The monthly series features a guest blogger who provides their perspective on and
experience with CTE as it relates to policy, the economy and education.

Are you interested in being a guest blogger and expressing your support for CTE? Contact Melinda Findley Lloyd, Communications Consultant, at mlloyd@careertech.org.

 

[1] The Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, “Career Clusters:  Forecasting Demand for High School through College Jobs 2008-2018”, Georgetown University, November 2011. http://www9.georgetown.edu/grad/gppi/hpi/cew/pdfs/clusters-complete-update1.pdf

[2] United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Economic and Employment Projections Table 7. The 30 fastest-growing occupations, 2008-18, December 2009. http://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecopro.toc.htm

[3] National Center for Education Statistics.

[4] Home Builders Institute, http://www.hbicertification.org

By admin in Uncategorized
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Friends of CTE Guest Blog Series: College Ready for Some or Career Ready for All

Friday, December 9th, 2011

Jana Hambruch, an Industry Advisor who provides consulting services for Adobe Systems Incorporated, has more than 18 years of technical certification industry experience in the secondary, postsecondary, and workforce education markets.

For years, educators have been driven to produce “college ready” students through secondary education programs. Yet today, 41% of matriculated high school students do not pursue postsecondary education.[1]  Of the ones who do, less than half actually graduate.[2] These students need to be taught marketable 21st century skills at the secondary level.[3]  

Some existing Career Technical Education (CTE) programs remain centered on vocational skills that were important in the past but find little traction in today’s digital technology driven market. In order to overcome the challenges our nation faces, our workforce must be highly competitive in the global market, and it must remain the leading innovator in the high-tech industries and occupations that dominate our global economy. In order to accomplish this, our education system must adapt to these new demands.

America’s workforce is aging.  Fifty percent of our workforce [3] is close to retirement age, and others lack the skills necessary to truly compete in today’s market. The generation of future workers who are entering high school now will be expected to use technology at the beginning of their careers, in many cases technology that does not even exist today. How do we prepare these students to meet these challenges and take the reins of a digital economy?

Well, to begin with, educators must recognize the paradigm shift from “College Ready for Some” to “Career Ready for All”.

CTE is more important now than ever.

To prepare secondary students to be “Career Ready”, we need to look at what employable and marketable skill sets all students need foundationally to succeed regardless of the profession they desire to be in. These include …

To meet this challenge, educators themselves have begun using a variety of technology based education tools and methods. These include virtual learning environments, blended learning environments, web-based technologies such as blogs, streaming media, social networks and more.

The majority of students who enroll in modern CTE programs that incorporate these learning styles and include a measureable result with an industry certification (Intro to IT, Web Design, Web Development, Digital Design, Gaming Design, TV Production, and Digital Media) are staying in school, graduating, and performing better on state standardized exams. These courses include digital design applications such as Adobe Photoshop, Flash, Dreamweaver, Illustrator and Premiere Pro which are engaging and provide a true visual learning
experience that attracts all students. They focus on cognitive and critical thinking skills as a core element of the learning process.

What do the district and school gain?

Adobe has made tremendous strides in providing free online curriculum, teacher and student resources and a nationally recognized industry certification. The industry certification the students achieve is a credential that employers recognize, one which quantifies the skills of the worker and sets them apart. As a result, students entering the workforce have a much better opportunity to earn a livable wage, either while beginning their postsecondary studies or embarking on their career.

More information about the resources available through Adobe can be found online at http://www.adobe.com/education/k12/career-technical-education.edu.html. Programs of Study are also available for the Information Technology Career Clusterâ„¢ at http://www.careertech.org/career-clusters/resources/plans/it.html.

Companies like Adobe have made great strides to understand the value of Career Ready for All!

 

The Friends of CTE Guest Blog Series  provides advocates – from business and industry, researchers and organizations – an opportunity to articulate their support for Career Technical Education. The monthly series features a guest blogger who provides their perspective on and experience with CTE as it relates to policy, the economy and education.

Are you interested in being a guest blogger and expressing your support for CTE? Contact Melinda Findley Lloyd, Communications Consultant, at mlloyd@careertech.org.

 

[1] Harvard Graduate School of Education, “Pathways To Prosperity”, Harvard University,
2011. Web, 12/01/2011. http://www.gse.harvard.edu/news_events/features/2011/Pathways_to_Prosperity_Feb2011.pdf

[2] Bowler,Mike. “Dropouts Loom Large For Schools”. U.S. News and World Report. 2009. Web. 12/01/2011. http://www.usnews.com/education/articles/2009/08/19/dropouts-loom-large-for-schools

[3] Sturko Grossman,Cheryl. “Preparing WIA Youth for the STEM Workforce”. Youthwork Information Brief. Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, Office of Workforce Development, Bureau of Workforce Services. 2008. Web. 12/01/2011. http://jfs.ohio.gov/owd/WorkforceProf/Youth/Docs/Infobrief35_STEM_Workforce_.pdf

By admin in Career Clusters®
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Friends of CTE Guest Blog: CTE Offers Pathways to High-Demand, High-Skill Jobs

Monday, November 21st, 2011

Nicole Smith is a Senior Economist at The Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, co-authored Career Clusters: Forecasting Demand for High School through College Jobs. The report explores what students need to learn and what skills to attain in order to succeed in the economy.

Two views dominate much popular thinking on higher education today. The first view is that Americans are overeducated, underemployed, and that college isn’t worth it. The second view is that the only pathway to the middle class is through a higher education credential. The first view is demonstrably false, but the second view is also too extreme.

The more complex reality is that, while low-skill pathways to the middle class are being placed under increasing pressure by advancements in technology, those pathways still exist — just at a much lesser extent than they used to. This does not mean that anyone should be satisfied with a high school diploma if there is an opportunity for further education. The data clearly show that college pays off in the long run in the form of higher wages, better jobs, and a wider opportunity to achieve the American dream. But those who cannot, for whatever reason, go beyond high school should not give up hope. Career Technical Education (CTE) offers opportunities to these students through developed career pathways that begin the grooming process in high school, preparing them for distinct high-wage, high-demand, high-skill jobs.

Over the last 40 years, our economy has seen enormous change in what the labor market demands of job seekers. In 1972, 72 percent of all jobs required a high school diploma or less along with some on-the-job training. By 2018, that number will drop to 37 percent. Of those 37 percent, one in three jobs will offer salaries of $35,000 or more. So, while the old days of using a high school diploma as a ticket to the middle class are clearly over, there are and will be middle class citizens who did not attend college.

What are these jobs and who benefits? A few highlights from our Career Clusters â„¢ study are listed below:

The labor market demand for workers with higher education is increasing, but we should not forget altogether the workers who do not need a higher education credential to access the middle class and the American dream. We need to inform decision makers, institutions and individuals about the best ways to select the education and training required to achieve their educational goal.  Career Clusters: Forecasting Demand for High School through College Jobs is a first step in that direction that answers the question:  “Is it worth it? What can I expect for my career choice today and long term? And what are the prospects in my state?

 

The Friends of CTE Guest Blog Series  provides advocates – from business and industry, the research community and organizations – an opportunity to articulate their support for Career Technical Education. The monthly series features a guest blogger who provides their perspective on and experience with CTE as it relates to policy, the economy and education.

Are you interested in being a guest blogger and expressing your support for CTE? Contact Melinda Findley Lloyd, Communications Consultant, at mlloyd@careertech.org.

By admin in News
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CBS Evening News Shines Light on CTE

Friday, October 14th, 2011

CBS Evening News this week shined a light on Career Technical Education (CTE), highlighting its role in training a skilled and competitive workforce, and helping to support the nation’s economy.

The news segment, Skilled Workforce in High Demand, segued from a story on President Obama’s jobs bill and noted a national report which indicated that 4.6 unemployed workers are competing for every job that is available. The connection made between the nation’s economic health and CTE, and a brief nod to NASDCTEc was certainly positive.

The report went further to explore Lehigh Valley CTE programs in Allentown, Pennsylvania and the range of job opportunities students are poised to secure. Lehigh Valley schools and colleges continue to receive attention for its CTE programs. In December 2009, President Obama visited Lehigh Carbon Community College (LCCC), which shares a campus with Lehigh Career and Technical Institute (LCTI). The President’s stop to the joint campus that December placed CTE in the backdrop as he talked about economic recovery.

John McGlade, Air Products President and CEO, vouched for CTE as a resource that could help boost the nation’s economy. His company hires about 550 U.S. workers annually, but many of them can go unfilled for up to a year, he said. About 360 of those positions require 2 years of college, or advanced certification.

“Without the support and without the continued development of a skilled workforce, we aren’t going to be able to fill the jobs,” McGlade said.

McGlade has been a vocal advocate of CTE. He has spoken to the importance of CTE at a NASDCTEc Spring Meeting and has worked with other CTE organizations such as SkillsUSA to support CTE.

Erin Uy, Communications & Marketing Manager

By admin in News
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SkillsUSA Featured in Parade Magazine

Wednesday, September 7th, 2011

Parade Magazine highlighted SkillsUSA and their participation in the 2011 WorldSkills Competition — the Olympics of skilled labor — as a bright spot in economic news.

Thomas Holdsworth of SkillsUSA, said that at a time of sky-high unemployment rates, the competition holds a promise for future jobs: skilled professions offer some of the best opportunities in the country, according to the article.

“With so many baby boomers retiring, there’s never been a better time to be young and skilled in America,” he said. “These men and women will find jobs—without question. But right now, they are working hard to make us proud in London.”

Erin Uy, Communications & Marketing Manager

By admin in News
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Skills-, Workforce-Focused Groups Establish Business Leaders United Initiative

Friday, July 1st, 2011

Four major organizations that are dedicated to supporting the nation’s workforce this week committed to Business Leaders United for Workforce Partnerships; the new initiative aims to address clear, specific issues, and implement measurable plans to address the job creation challenges in the United States.
National Skills Coalition (NSC), Skills for America’s Future, National Fund for Workforce Solutions, and Corporate Voices for Working Families announced the partnership at a Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) meeting June 30. In an NSC announcement, the organizations said they planned to “bring diverse business leaders together to help shape a national skills strategy that can address structural skill shortages that are putting the brakes on economic recovery and job creation.”

Measurable plans of Business Leaders United include:

• Expanding the number of these partnerships by more than 30 percent across 50 states.
• Facilitating conversations between local business leaders and federal policymakers about how private, philanthropic, and public dollars can be leveraged to replicate and sustain these partnerships nationally.

By admin in News
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Senate Hearing on the State of the American Child

Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010

Last week the Subcommittee on Children and Families of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held the second hearing in a series to address the state of the American child. This hearing looked at the impact of federal policies on children.

Dr. Cecilia Rouse, a member of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), told the subcommittee that a CB028331growing number of jobs require workers with greater analytical and interactive skills, but that students are not prepared to enter postsecondary, where they are most likely to acquire these skills. She went on to say that “while the current U.S. education and training system has been shown to provide valuable labor market skills to participants, it could be more effective at encouraging completion and responding to the needs of the labor market.” Her suggestions for improving the system come from CEA’s report Preparing the Workers of Today for the Jobs of Tomorrow which we told you about last summer. She also said that federal legislation such as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and the Workforce Investment Act would help the United States develop training and education systems that are once again first in the world.

Seth Harris, Deputy Secretary from the U.S. Department of Labor outlined the Department’s proposed “Good Jobs for Everyone” program that would ensure “that young people have access to careers in high growth industries and the skills they need to compete in the global economy.” He went on to stress the importance of WIA youth programs that prepare young adults with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in 21st century careers and emerging fields such as healthcare and “green” jobs.

Sen. Robert Casey (PA), during questioning, emphasized that there needs to be a comprehensive strategy to bring together all of the agencies and programs that focus on youth so that they are more effective at providing services to and improving the lives of children. He suggested that CEOs and business leaders could play an important role in supporting a strategy for comprehensive reform.

By admin in Public Policy
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NY Times Article: Factory Jobs Return, but Employers Find Skills Shortage

Friday, July 16th, 2010

The economy is cracking the door open for higher-wage jobs in the manufacturing industry, but the unemployed do not have the right skills to enter and take advantage of the opportunity, according to a recent New York Times article.

Factory Jobs Return, but Employers Find Skills Shortage highlights the skills gap that has widened across the nation as manufacturing companies, particularly industries focused in fast-growing products like advanced medical devices and wind turbines, have difficulty finding qualified workers in the United States. Low-skilled jobs are being outsourced overseas, leaving the U.S. unemployed to vie for higher-wage jobs that require higher-level expertise – an opportunity and conundrum for the workforce.

Businesses are looking to hire people “who can operate sophisticated computerized machinery, follow complex blueprints and demonstrate higher math proficiency than was previously required of the typical assembly line worker,” according to the article. That demand is likely not going to change, even as the economy shifts, manufacturers added.

By admin in News
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