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Advance CTE 2023 Fall Meeting Sponsor Blog: Diamond Sponsor, iCEV – 5 Steps Toward Building a Sustainable CTE Program

September 29th, 2023

As a State Career and Technical Education (CTE) leader, you know the value of CTE in preparing learners for a wide range of work opportunities. But to elevate CTE’s impact, it’s essential to use your expertise to build programs that grow and thrive.

Through our conversations with CTE champions, here are five top tips we’ve summarized that are crucial to building a sustainable CTE program.

After reviewing each strategy, you’ll be better able to pursue the Advance CTE vision of CTE Without Limits.

1. Articulate Your Purpose

Identify your purpose and goals for your state’s CTE programs from the beginning. Ensure your objectives are clearly defined so you can use them to make your decisions. Consistent focus on your core goals is essential to developing a viable program.

Once you’ve defined your goals clearly, share the program’s value with your stakeholders. Prospective learners will gain insight into how the program could benefit their future.

2. Choose Relevant Courses

A key benefit of CTE is developing skills directly applicable to real-world work. Offering the right pathways and courses to teach these skills is a huge piece of any successful program.

Stay in tune with in-demand skills across industries and which careers learners are interested in. By implementing diverse courses with transferable skills, you’ll go further in preparing the next generation of workers.

3. Pursue Professional Development

Implementing ongoing professional development opportunities keeps educators current on CTE objectives, industry knowledge, and teaching strategies.

Effective professional development can take many forms, but supporting CTE instructors with relevant and varied opportunities demonstrates your commitment to their success in the classroom.

4. Build Partnerships within the Community

Connecting with businesses in local communities can create many opportunities for learners, including internships or part-time employment.

Contact companies and express your interest in creating partnerships between their professionals and learners. Making business connections at the state level can boost opportunities for programs and learners throughout your state.

5. Evaluate Your Programs

Implementing CTE at the state level is a long-term commitment to a model that will grow and evolve in a changing world.

From the beginning, gather feedback from involved parties—educators, learners, families, and industry partners. Collecting feedback on the effectiveness of a program offers immense value to all of these stakeholders.

Utilize data to determine if your CTE program is meeting its objectives and to make informed decisions.

Finally, think about how to support learners through career and technical student organizations (CTSOs), expanded program offerings, and investments in technology. Making continual improvements statewide will lead to long-term success and sustainability.

Pursue CTE Without Limits in Your Program

When you use your expertise to build sustainable CTE programs, you can pursue the vision of CTE Without Limits and provide access to a diverse audience of learners.

But to provide a cohesive, flexible learning environment to better achieve these goals, many programs are relying on CTE data.

Visit the iCEV booth during the Advance CTE Fall Conference to learn more about how iCEV can support you in acquiring and using data to make decisions.

Tags: 21st Century Skills, CTE Without Limits, CTSO, Fall Meeting, iCEV, internships, professional development, Sponsors
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Advance CTE Fall Meeting Sponsor Blog: Diamond Sponsor, SME Education Foundation – Manufacturing CTE’s Role in Job Creation

September 27th, 2023

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 align 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 are valuable partners in such a process. The Foundation’s signature program, SME PRIME®, is predicated on partnering private industry with educators 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, teacher training, student scholarships and funding for extra-curricular activities and program sustainability. SME PRIME® is tailored to meet the needs of local manufacturers and is aligned with over 30 industry-recognized certifications.

In the past few years, the SME Education Foundation has partnered with both the Michigan Department of Education and the Georgia Department of Education to introduce SME PRIME® to dozens of high schools across each state, engaging hundreds of manufacturers in the process. Nationwide, SME PRIME® provides manufacturing and engineering education to more than 10,000 students at 109 schools in 23 states, and 91 percent of graduates pursue manufacturing post-graduation. Visit the SME Prime® webpage to learn more.

The bottom line is that manufacturers and CTE leaders can move forward together to elevate CTE’s impact for a generation of learners.

Rob Luce, Vice President, SME Education Foundation

Tags: engineering, Georgia, high-demand jobs, Industry Certifications, manufacturing, Michigan
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2022 Advance Fall Meeting Recap – Forward Together: Amplifying Voices of CTE Leaders

October 26th, 2022

Advance CTE’s 2022 Fall Meeting included five breakout sessions that connected timely topics of advocacy of CTE, equipping attendees with strategies to elevate their voice and the voices of learners and partners to advance high-quality, equitable policies.

This post provides a recap of top strategies and resources shared in each breakout, which featured speakers from state teams, national non-profits, philanthropy and education research and communications.

Engaging Policymakers to Create CTE Champions

With over 30 gubernatorial elections and legislative elections in all but four states, 2022 will likely lead to major changes and transitions in the year ahead for education leadership. Speakers from Education Commission of the States, Advance CTE and the state of Washington provided guidance and tips to successfully prepare for and navigate these transitions. In particular, state CTE leaders should focus on identifying their core messages on the value of CTE, conducting research on what newly elected leaders care most about (and what CTE success stories can be shared from their home districts or communities), and leveraging ambassadors and partners to help carry forward priorities and get the ear of new leaders and their transition teams.

Moving Beyond a Seat at the Table: Advancing CTE through Partnerships and Collaboration

The intersectionality of CTE leads the creation of high-quality partnerships to be not just good strategy but a necessity. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Achieving the Dream, both national partners of Advance CTE, shared best strategies to create partnerships that will better deploy and connect federal state and philanthropic resources, and ultimately address gaps that impede the success of learners. Speakers emphasized that successful partnerships must have shared objectives and mutual needs. When asked about the conditions philanthropic organizations seek when investing in a new partnership, three main areas are identified: flexibility, having the right individuals at the table and bought in, and an understanding that the partnership is not a product bought but rather an opportunity to create connections.

Connecting Data and Learner Voice for Next-Level Storytelling

This session featuring Advance CTE and Edge Research inspired attendees to amplify learner outcome data and testimonials to create impactful data stories. Attendees were reminded to be in the driver’s seat on creating data ‘headlines’’ and to be proactive in addressing assumptions others might make about data. First step routines were also provided, such as mapping schedules for quantitative and qualitative data collection, quantitative data reporting and qualitative data access opportunities and comparing timelines with storytelling opportunities.

Edge Research provided storytelling tips — one included creating three to five headlines that encompass a data point audiences might not expect, highlight the most urgent findings, and provide a call to action. It is important to humanize qualitative data through phrases such as ‘1 out of X families’ or ‘X number of children need Y’.

Advancing Your State’s CTE Goals through State Legislative Policy

Georgia and Advance CTE discussed effective processes and tools to leverage state legislative policy to advance CTE initiatives. You can find the high-level trends of 2021 state CTE policies documented in Advance CTE and ACTE’s Year in Review. Georgia shared the importance of having a concrete policy agenda and consistently involving stakeholders including the state’s ACTE chapter and state CTSO leadership, in its formulation and execution. They also emphasized the importance of leveraging the learner voice in demonstrating CTE’s value to legislators: “Figure out what they want, and show it to them.”

Supporting Visionary Local CTE Leadership

“Relationship building is the foundation of a robust CTE leaders onboarding system,” stated Dr. Valeria Williams, Director of CTE at the Mississippi Community College Board when explaining the key to successful support of local CTE leaders. Dr. Williams and Cathie Raymond, the State CTE Director in Arizona, provided insight on developing strong onboarding programs for local CTE leaders. Attendees were encouraged to plan early for onboarding to start before the new school/academic year and remain accessible to CTE leaders year-round through intentional technical assistance and convenings. Although CTE leader turnover is high, best practices were shared with the reminder of how retention starts early through identification and empowerment of outstanding teachers to stay in the field and eventually transition into CTE leadership roles, with a critical focus on diversifying leadership pipelines.

Advance CTE provides a plethora of resources to support CTE leaders in amplifying their voice and impact, including tools to communicate data, communicate with families and engage with policymakers and employers.

Stacy Whitehouse, Senior Associate Communications and State Engagement

Tags: Arizona, Communicating CTE, Data and Accountability, Georgia, Mississippi, partnerships, professional development, state policy, Year in Review
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Advance CTE Fall Meeting Sponsor Blog: Diamond Sponsor, Certiport – Unique Skillbuilding Opportunities through Adobe and Microsoft Office Learner Competitions

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:

Adobe Certified Professional Visual Communication using Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Certified Professional in Print & Digital Media, Publication using Adobe InDesign
Adobe Certified Professional in Graphic Design & Illustration using Adobe Illustrator.

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:

Microsoft Word (Office 2016)
Microsoft Excel® (Office 2016)
Microsoft PowerPoint® (Office 2016)
Microsoft Word (Microsoft 365 Apps and Office 2019)
Microsoft Excel® (Microsoft 365 Apps and Office 2019)
Microsoft PowerPoint® (Microsoft 365 Apps and Office 2019)

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

Tags: certifications, CTE Fall Meeting, Sponsor, technical skills
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Advance CTE Fall Meeting Sponsor Blog: Gold Sponsor, Lincoln Electric – Industry Certifications: Joining Industry and Education Together

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

Tags: business and industry partnerships, CTE Fall Meeting, Industry Certifications, Sponsor, Workforce Training
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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

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

[email protected]

Tags: 21st Century Skills, CTE Fall Meeting, curriculum, Sponsor
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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

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

Tags: Career Exploration, CTE Fall Meeting, enrollment, Oregon, Sponsor
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Advance CTE Fall Meeting Sponsor Blog: Platinum Sponsor, Oracle Academy – Tools for Career Technical Education and Learning that Works

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:

The introduction of Oracle Academy Java for AP Computer Science A Curriculum that prepares high school students for the College Board AP Computer Science A exam as well as the Oracle Certified Foundations Associate, Java exam (1Z0-811). An extension of the Java Foundations curriculum, this new curriculum includes content to meet the objectives outlined by the College Board for AP Computer Science A. It also may benefit educators and students who wish to extend their Java knowledge beyond Java Foundations.
Every journey begins with a first step. My Oracle Academy (OA) Journeys are a starting point for new and existing educator members to grow their technology education expertise. My OA Journey will point educator members in the right direction through precise questioning to determine which OA teaching resources will support their needs. Access My OA Journey in the Oracle Academy Member Hub.
Development of an Oracle Academy Scheduled Learning Widget, conveniently located in the Oracle Academy Member Hub, allows for just in time learning for educators. The new Scheduled Learning Widget will provide all educator members with easy access to scheduled support topics, including “Office Hours” and “Getting Started With” enablement events.
In addition to our Scheduled Learning Widget, Oracle Academy members can design their own CPD learning by adding Oracle Academy full curriculum courses to a learning channel they create in the Oracle Academy Member Hub. The full curriculum have associated CPD credit hours assigned to them, so Oracle Academy faculty members simply identify desired content and add to their custom learning channel to get started!

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
[email protected]

Tags: CTE Fall Meeting, curriculum, Sponsor
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Advance CTE Fall Meeting Sponsor Blog: Gold Sponsor, ECMC Foundation – Investing in CTE Means Nobody Gets Left Behind

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!

Tags: CTE Fall Meeting, Sponsor
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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

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

Tags: CTE Fall Meeting, curriculum, Energy, industry-recognized credentials, Sponsor
Posted in Advance CTE Fall Meeting | Comments Off on Advance CTE Fall Meeting Sponsor Blog: Diamond Sponsor, Center for Energy Workforce Development – Seeking a Skilled, Diverse Workforce for America’s Clean Energy Future