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State of CTE: Data Quality in Perkins V State Plans

February 8th, 2021

In an education and workforce landscape that is more complex than ever, quality Career Technical Education (CTE) programming provides learners with experience and skills that can lead to high-value jobs and lifelong success. The passage of the Strengthening Career Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) pushed states to improve quality and increase equity within their CTE systems, including setting higher expectations for how states are using data about CTE programs to understand the outcomes of learners they serve. In October 2020, Advance CTE released “The State of Career Technical Education: An Analysis of States’ Perkins V Priorities,” which examines how states have leveraged the opportunities created by the updated law to meet their CTE goals, including whether states have prioritized investments in data to ensure that they can answer priority questions and measure progress toward those goals. While many states are making improvements to CTE data, more can be done to ensure that these efforts result in meaningful information for all stakeholders.

Perkins V Creates A Foundation for Better Data Practices.

Perkins V puts greater emphasis on the importance of data as a core element of good policy-making, including: 

  • promoting evidence-based decision making;
  • making data available and accessible so that all stakeholders can use it to identify and close access and opportunity gaps among learners;
  • providing transparent dashboards and other tools that enable communities to explore performance data for all groups of learners served by CTE programs;
  • ensuring programs are well aligned with labor market needs; and 
  • investing in the programs and learner supports that lead to the best outcomes for each learner. 

States should embrace and thoughtfully implement all of these activities and continue to go beyond what is outlined in the law to enhance the quality and availability of CTE data, and to build trust and fuel the feedback loops that help demonstrate program efficacy. With better information, leaders, practitioners and learners will have the capacity and confidence to make data-informed decisions that result in better outcomes. 

States Are Taking Steps to Improve the Availability and Usability of CTE Data.

Based on Advance CTE’s analysis of state Perkins V plans, a number of states are prioritizing data in their implementation of Perkins, including:      

  • More than one-third of states (19 total) are developing new public reporting tools for their CTE programs. Many of these investments appear to be aimed at equity-related data tools or related visualizations. More broadly, about a half of states (53 percent) are providing dashboards or other data reports to support equity gap analyses at the local level.
  • Another third of states (17 total) are directing at least some of their State Leadership funds to support data quality improvement and expanding CTE data collection capacity.
  • Eight percent of states are using the reserve fund for data quality and reporting.

Key Innovations

  • Hawai‘i is using a monitoring framework, informed by a data reporting application, that will identify which CTE programs have disparities, misalignments, or inequities in program offerings, participation and achievement of educational and workforce outcomes to develop improvement strategies that address the root causes.
  • Washington is investing Perkins funds to improve labor market tools. One is a public dashboard that will support predicting new and existing employment opportunities and future trends. Another dashboard will display data disaggregated by learner subgroup, special population status, and CTE program, which will only be available to colleges.  The dashboards will be updated annually as enrollment and completion data from the previous year become available.

The Work Ahead

Many states are embracing the opportunities afforded to them under the new law, yet more work lies ahead. Improving CTE data affects not only the field of CTE, but the full education to workforce (P-20W) ecosystem within a state with which CTE is interconnected. As states plan for next steps when it comes to investing CTE resources, they should:

  • Ensure that CTE data is understandable and usable by a wide array of stakeholders to support high stakes decision-making (e.g., to support resource allocation decisions to equitably serve each learner);
  • Invest in the data infrastructure underlying states’ CTE systems so that it robust and ready to be connected to data in other state systems that can provide value back to CTE leaders (e.g., while there are some notable exceptions to this finding, state investments in postsecondary data infrastructure are largely absent as part of the Perkins V planning process);
  • Expand the audience for and attention on CTE data by including it alongside other data on prominent, public-facing tools like state and local report cards required by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA);
  • As Perkins V implementation gets more fully underway, ensure that CTE leaders are at the table with other state leaders so that future federal and state investments in systems and capacity include CTE data and result in improvements to CTE data quality and availability at all levels.

Resources

Christina Koch, Policy Associate
Jane Clark, Associate Director, Policy and Advocacy, Data Quality Campaign 

 

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State of CTE: Dual Enrollment in Perkins V State Plans

February 2nd, 2021

In October 2020, Advance CTE released “The State of Career Technical Education: An Analysis of States’ Perkins V Priorities,” which examines how states have leveraged the development of the Strengthening Career Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) state plans to expand quality and increase equity within their Career Technical Education (CTE) systems. 

Perkins V is an important federal education statute that charges states to develop high-quality programs of study that build coherent, options-rich connections between middle, high school, college and careers. A high-quality program of study should offer on and off-ramps for learners along their pathways and create seamless transitions between K-12, postsecondary institutions and the workforce. One key aspect of quality that is a priority within states’ plans is the expansion of dual/concurrent enrollment. These early postsecondary opportunities are critical because they help CTE learners understand their post-high school options and earn degrees or credentials faster, saving them time and money and prioritizing their individual needs.  

Approximately one-third of high school graduates take courses for postsecondary credit at some point during their educational careers. Historically, about a third of all dual credits earned have been in CTE courses. Participating in these opportunities can lead to higher rates of college enrollment and success, as they demonstrate to learners that they are prepared for college-level work and enable them to get a head start on their credential or degree. Ensuring there is equitable access to these programs is an important part of building educational cultures where each learner, especially learners of color, can see college as a viable option.

One foundational way that Perkins V elevates the focus on dual/concurrent enrollment is through the introduction of a new secondary program quality indicator. States can choose from three options — work-based learning, recognized postsecondary credentials (credentials of value) and postsecondary credit attainment (dual/concurrent enrollment and articulation). 

Advance CTE’s analysis of state Perkins V plans found that states largely took up the mantle of supporting and expanding early postsecondary opportunities. Generally, many of these state decisions represent a continuation of prior commitments to programs of study and ensuring seamless transitions between secondary and postsecondary. 

  • More than half of the states (28 total) include dual/concurrent enrollment or articulation as part of their CTE program approval process.
  • About a quarter of states (13 total) have selected postsecondary credit attainment as at least one of their secondary CTE program quality indicators within their Perkins V accountability system.
  • Forty-one percent of states (21 total) are prioritizing dual/concurrent enrollment and articulation within their comprehensive local needs assessment (CLNA) or local application for Perkins eligible recipients.
  • A quarter of states (12 total) are leveraging Reserve Funds to advance dual/concurrent enrollment.
  • A third of states (17 total) are leveraging Perkins to develop statewide articulation agreements.

State Strategies to Advance Dual/Concurrent Enrollment and Articulation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Key Innovations

  • Illinois will utilize disaggregated data to identify and provide targeted technical assistance, more effective resource allocation and enhanced continuous quality improvement efforts to address equity gaps in dual enrollment. This will require better communication to underrepresented learners and their families regarding dual credit options, including the courses offered, the impact on a student’s career trajectory and the related career opportunities that align with each program.
  • Connecticut’s College Career Pathway (CCP) program provides high school learners with the opportunity to complete postsecondary coursework before graduation. The state requires its Perkins eligible recipients that have a CCP or another similar articulation agreement with a postsecondary institution to dedicate, at minimum, 5 percent of their local Perkins grant to support these efforts. Further encouraging collaboration in this area, postsecondary eligible recipients in the state must use a minimum of $20,000 of their local Perkins grant in support of these partnerships. 

The Work Ahead

Most states’ focus within their Perkins V plans was around providing secondary learners early postsecondary credit opportunities. While these efforts are critical to help learners transition from secondary to postsecondary education, more can still be done to facilitate transitions at the postsecondary level. States should continue efforts to develop additional pathways to help postsecondary and adult learners translate experiences in non-credit programs to pathways that provide credit, through efforts such as credit for prior learning. 

Similarly, state Perkins V plans rarely included efforts to support transitions from two-year institutions to four-year institutions. One of the best ways to achieve this goal is through statewide articulation agreements to ensure full transferability of any credits that are earned by learners. Yet only a third of states are prioritizing the creation of statewide articulation agreements in their Perkins plans, including some states that previously had such agreements in place.  

Finally, states need to continue to ensure that dual/concurrent and articulation opportunities are meaningful, equitable and fully aligned to a learner’s program of study. For instance, only about half of states that are using postsecondary credit attainment as their secondary CTE program quality measure explicitly require that these credits be related to a learner’s CTE program of study or wider career pathway, which is required by the law. States need to make intentional decisions about which courses count and how many credits are earned and collect and use the data on which credits are actually articulated, by which learners, across institutions.

Resources

Christina Koch, Policy Associate
Amy Williams, Executive Director, National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships

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The State of CTE: Work-Based Learning in Perkins V State Plans

January 27th, 2021

Work-based learning offers learners opportunities to deepen classroom learning, explore future career fields and demonstrate skills in an authentic setting. These experiences are increasingly a priority for states across all career and technical education (CTE) learner levels. Recently, provisions for work-based learning have been greatly expanded by the Strengthening Career Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V). 

These provisions include the first formal federal definition for “work-based learning,” which allows a multitude of activities to count as a work-based learning experience. Given that this definition of work-based learning is broad, it is important that states consider what constitutes quality work-based learning so that each learner’s experience is meaningful and results in tangible outcomes.

Perkins V also now supports work-based learning through the new secondary program quality indicator. States can choose from three indicator options: work-based learning, recognized postsecondary credentials (credentials of value) and postsecondary credit attainment (dual enrollment and articulation). These are all components of a high-quality CTE program of study, in addition to critical elements like rigorous standards, quality assessments, and alignment to high-skill, high-wage and in-demand career opportunities. 

In October 2020, Advance CTE released a report entitled, “The State of Career Technical Education: An Analysis of States’ Perkins V Priorities,” which examines how states have leveraged the development of the Perkins V state plans to expand quality and increase equity within their CTE systems. Advance CTE found that states largely took up the mantle of supporting and expanding work-based learning. Notably:

  • Thirty-four states use work-based learning in their size, scope and quality definitions. This definition is used as a litmus test by states to determine Perkins V funding eligibility, among other uses.
  • Twenty-four states and the District of Columbia are prioritizing work-based learning as part of their comprehensive local needs assessment process or local application process.
  • Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia include work-based learning as a factor when approving new or existing CTE programs.
  • Sixteen states are developing definitions, frameworks or related standards to further support the implementation of these opportunities with Perkins resources.

These findings indicate that states are still in the process of building systems and related supports to bring work-based learning to scale.

State Strategies to Advance Work-Based Learning

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Key Innovations

  • In Delaware, learner participation in a work-based learning experience is a required component of all state-approved CTE programs of study, and the state is funding a statewide work-based learning intermediary. Delaware takes these efforts even further in its Perkins V plan, ensuring close collaboration across state CTE and workforce development systems to provide youths and adults with disabilities the supports they need to complete work-based learning experiences. 
  • Texas is leveraging Perkins V to expand upon its work-based learning system and opportunities. With Perkins resources, Texas is making extensive use of virtual schools to allow learners to participate in virtual work-based learning experiences. This option is important in communities, especially rural areas, where work-based learning opportunities may be limited. In the short term, the option is even more critical given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Work Ahead

Perkins V structures the work-based learning program quality measure around learner participation. As a result, states are not required to comparably structure this measure around completion or attainment. However, it’s important that work-based learning program quality measures are defined robustly and focus on completion of meaningful and rigorous work-based learning experiences that set learners up for success. With over half of states now counting work-based learning within their Perkins V accountability systems, the work ahead is significant yet critical to scaling high-quality and equitable work-based learning experiences.

Christina Koch, Policy Associate
Tom Keily, Senior Policy Analyst, Education Commission on the States

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Research Review: CTE Course Taking Is the Norm Among High School Graduates, but Equity Gaps Remain 

December 1st, 2020

Eighty-eight percent of high school graduates earned Career Technical Education (CTE) course credit in 2013. That’s the major takeaway from a new data brief published by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The data brief provides a glimpse into how course taking patterns have changed over time and how participation in CTE varies by race, ethnicity, gender, disability and English learner status.

While states publicly report information on CTE participation, concentration and performance, the methods states use to identify CTE concentrators and categorize programs can differ, making an apples-to-apples comparison across states and over time challenging. The data brief from NCES cuts through some of the noise by coding student transcripts using the School Courses for the Exchange of Data (SCED) and Secondary School Course Taxonomy (SSCT) codes. The research uses comparative longitudinal data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988, the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 and the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009. 

CTE Course Taking Is the Norm for High School Graduates in the U.S.

The major finding from the research is that CTE course taking is the norm for high school graduates in the U.S. However, while 88 percent of high school students graduate with some CTE credit, this has declined from 95 percent in 1992. The most popular subject area is business, finance and marketing. 

Additionally, high school students are more likely to sample CTE courses as elective credits than concentrate in a specific program. Approximately two in five high school students graduated with at least two credits in a specific CTE area, and only one in five completed at least three aligned CTE credits. 

Equity Gaps Remain 

The data brief also illuminates disparities in CTE course taking by subgroup. For decades, CTE — historically called “vocational education” — prepared learners who were determined not to be “college material” for dead-end jobs after high school. Overwhelmingly, learners of color and learners from low-income families were tracked into these programs and shut out from the opportunity for postsecondary education and a pathway to career success. 

Tracking continues to take place in some schools across the country today, but as CTE has strengthened in quality and rigor, access to high-quality CTE programs in some cases have been closed off to learners from diverse backgrounds through “gatekeeping” practices such as the use of admissions requirements or the placement of programs in affluent communities. 

According to the NCES data brief, learners with an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) and learners whose parents had lower levels of education earned more CTE credits than their peers. Conversely, the report found lower levels of CTE course taking among English learners, female learners and learners of color compared to learners whose first language was English, male learners and White learners respectively.

Unfortunately, the report does not include information about program enrollment by subgroup or the quality and rigor of different programs, which would illuminate whether these patterns are cause for concern or celebration. Under enrollment could be an indication of gatekeeping policies and practices, just as over enrollment could be an indication of tracking.

The data brief from NCES illuminates a trend, but more investigation is needed to understand whether there are disparities by discipline or quality of the program and to what degree course taking patterns result from specific policies or practices at the state or local level. 

Austin Estes, Manager of Data & Research 

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New International Resources from OECD and NCEE and Implications for CTE

November 3rd, 2020

Program for International Student Assessment 

Every three years, fifteen year olds around the world participate in testing that assesses reading, mathematics, and science literacy. Coordinated by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) was last conducted in 2018, with reading literacy serving as the major domain to be assessed. The results from the most recent assessment have been published all year long, and reports (including the most recent Are Students Ready to Thrive in an Interconnected World?) are regularly published on the PISA website. 

OECD Education at a Glance 2020 

On an annual basis, the OECD publishes Education at a Glance, a report that serves as a data source to compare structures, finances, and performance outcomes of international education systems. Education at a Glance 2020 has a specific focus on Vocational Education and Training (VET), and provides implications for VET in the US and internationally. 

Implications for CTE 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, career technical education has never been more important, as states leverage Career Technical Education (CTE) programs to rapidly credential adult workers and aid in economic recovery. In a recent webinar with the National Center for Education and the Economy, OECD Director for Education and Skills (and chief administrator of PISA) Andreas Schleicher further illustrated the need for vocational credentialing, arguing that “professions with vocational qualifications have formed the backbone of economic and social life during the lockdown.” The Education at a Glance 2020 report similarly correlates investment in CTE (or VET programs internationally) with increased economic returns. 

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs in the healthcare industry are growing faster than average than every other occupation industry, and more students than ever before are expecting to enter into a healthcare occupation. However, PISA 2018 survey results illustrate that students do not regularly have the skill sets required by the job market, nor do they understand the educational demands that their chosen occupation often requires. During a pandemic that relies on skilled healthcare professionals, when learners don’t necessarily have the skills they need to enter this field, and research reveals economic returns from CTE programming, it is crucial that educators and legislators leverage CTE to benefit the healthcare industry and the economy. Career technical education programs could provide learners the necessary information they require to enter into the healthcare field or, as adults, help reskill/upskill to get the credentials learners need to be successful in an ever-growing field. 

Dan Hinderliter, Policy Associate

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How COVID-19 is Impacting Young People’s Academic and Career Plans

October 29th, 2020

New Survey Data Illuminates the Impact of the Pandemic on Black and Latinx Youth and Youth from Low-Income Families

In the early spring, the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic was often referred to as “The Great Equalizer.” After all, pandemics are equal opportunity threats and we all have to wear masks and attend meetings and classes on Zoom. But as the pandemic wore on, it became immediately clear that it would have disproportionate impacts, exacerbating racial and economic inequities that have long existed in the public education system and in the workforce. Without action from state and local leaders, the pandemic could have long-lasting impacts on young people, particularly Black and Latinx youth and youth from low-income families.

The Great Recession of 2008 provides some insights into the threat of the current coronavirus economic crisis. Five years after the Great Recession, youth unemployment was at an all-time high, impacting the career success of Millennials through the present day. Back in 2013, the Center for American Progress projected that young people would lose out on more than $20 billion in earnings over the next 10 years – and many are still struggling with debt and underemployment as a result of the recession.

Today, an emerging generation of young people – often referred to as Generation Z or “Gen Z” – stands at a similar precipice. We are already seeing early warning signs that the pandemic and related economic recession will impact their plans for education and career success.

How Are Young People Responding to the Pandemic?

New research from Goodwin Simon Strategic Research, funded by Equitable Futures, a project of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, illuminates the impact the coronavirus pandemic is having on young people. In September, the organization released results from the first of four national surveys examining the pandemic’s impact on Black and Latinx youth and youth from low-income families.

One alarming takeaway from the research is that young people are taking on additional economic burdens as a result of the pandemic. Sixteen percent of respondents reported losing income due to decreased work hours or less business, and eight percent have lost an internship, apprenticeship or similar opportunity.

At the same time, young people are taking on additional responsibilities at home. Thirty-two percent of respondents say they are providing care for a younger member of their household, such as a younger sibling, with Black and Latinx youth responding at the highest rates.

As a result, young people are reconsidering their future academic and career plans. More than half of respondents say they value college differently now, with 28 percent reporting that they used to think college would be worth it but now think college is not worth it. Additionally, fewer young people have clarity about their goals and ideas for their futures than they did before the pandemic. In 2019, 43 percent of respondents said they felt clear about their future goals, compared to 27 percent in 2020 — a drop of 16 percentage points.

The coronavirus may not be the great equalizer, but it is the great disrupter. It may be years before we know the full impact of the pandemic and related economic crisis, but we know enough now to see that young people have been interrupted in their pursuit of education and career success in ways that will likely impact credential attainment, employment and earnings for years to come.

Trying Times Require Strong State Leadership

As a nation, we are at a crossroads, and states have a critical role to play in minimizing the impact of the Coronavirus on Black and Latinx learners and learners from low-income families. What can state leaders do to support young people in this time of crisis?

For one, they can provide clear information and guidance to help learners make informed decisions about their academic and career goals. This includes providing clear, transparent information about high-skill, high-wage and in-demand careers, the credentials needed to access those careers, and affordable opportunities to earn those credentials.

Additionally, with many young people experiencing loss of income as a result of the pandemic, state leaders can strengthen earn and learn opportunities so young people are not forced to choose between education and work. Paid work-based learning opportunities like youth apprenticeships are a proven way to build technical and employability skills on the job.

And finally, states can monitor data — including additional research from Goodwin Simon — to understand how Black and Latinx youth and youth from low-income families are being impacted by the pandemic and respond accordingly.

Early data is already illuminating the disastrous effects of the pandemic. State and local leaders can act now to pave the road to economic recovery and well-being for those who have been most impacted by the crisis.

Austin Estes, Manager of Data & Research, Advance CTE

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This Week in CTE

September 19th, 2020

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

TWEET OF THE WEEK

STATE DIRECTOR OF THE WEEK

The Wyoming Department of Education State CTE Director, Michelle Aldrich, announced support in funding for the Natrona County School District (NCSD). Funding will allow for a mobile STEM lab to travel across the school district, sharing equipment and providing career exploration opportunities to middle and elementary school students. Aldrich noted that it is important to, “recognize people who go above and beyond the norm.” Read more in this article published by Oil City News. 

GRANT APPLICATION OF THE WEEK

Colton-Redlands-Yucaipa Regional Occupational Program (CRY-ROP), in partnership with the California Department of Education (CDE), is now accepting applications for the 2020-2021 CTE TEACH Mentor Grant. One grant per local education agency (LEA) will be awarded. Mentoring teachers will be provided resources and supports as they help to transition new CTE teachers from industry to the classroom. Read more about CTE TEACH’s objectives, requirements and application here. 

VIDEO OF THE WEEK

ApprenticeshipNC shares how these five steps can lead to the start of a registered apprenticeship program for your business. 

CAREER PATHWAY OF THE WEEK

The partnership between the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE), the University System of Georgia (USG) and the American Transaction Processors Coalition (ATPC) has brought new opportunities to secondary learners in the state of Georgia. Since 2018, the Georgia FinTech Academy (GFTA) has provided over 1,900 learners with courses that lead to a career in financial technology (fintech). Aligned with the growing market demand for talent in fintech careers and with the help of an innovative virtual platform, GFTA now reaches every high school in Georgia that chooses to offer the pathway. Fintech college courses are also available for dual enrollment. Read more in this article published by the Atlanta Business Journal.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE OF THE WEEK

On Thursday, the Democrats of the House Committee on Education and Labor released a proposal to reauthorize the National Apprenticeship Act. The new bill, the National Apprenticeship Act of 2020, would invest $3.5 billion in Registered Apprenticeships, youth apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships over five years, and develop approximately 1 million new apprenticeships.

A fact sheet on the National Apprenticeship Act of 2020 can be found here, a section-by-section summary here and the full bill text here.

Follow Advance CTE’s legislative updates for more up-to-date information. 

RESOURCE OF THE WEEK

Advance CTE, with support from the Siemens Foundation, commissioned focus groups and a national survey to explore the attitudes of parents and students currently involved in CTE, as well as prospective CTE parents and students, to better understand the promise and opportunity of CTE. Making a Winning Case for CTE: How Local Leaders Can Communicate the Value of CTE provides ideas for how local leaders can use the messages and research from the Value and Promise of Career Technical Education report to effectively communicate the importance of CTE, especially to the most important audiences- students and parents.

View Making a Winning Case for CTE: How Local Leaders Can Communicate the Value of CTE in our Learning that Works Resource Center.

Brittany Cannady, Digital Media Associate

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Education, Training and Skill Development to Support an Equitable Recovery

July 16th, 2020

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, in partnership with the W. E. Upjohn Institute and the Penn Institute for Urban Research at the University of Pennsylvania, is conducting a webinar series highlighting strategies to promote an equitable recovery from the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. The first webinar focused on the impact of the pandemic on workers and the need for job training and skill development during the recovery. A full recording of the webinar and the speakers’ slides can be found here.

Recent data indicates that about 20 percent of the U.S. labor force has lost employment or earnings since February 2020, and about half of all job losses have taken place in the retail, leisure and hospitality industries. Some demographic groups have been disproportionately impacted by employment or earnings losses, including Black and Latino workers, workers with a high school education or less, and female workers. Notably, a large percentage of recent job losses may be permanent, meaning the worker won’t go back to employment at that particular job; Steven Davis from the University of Chicago shared recent calculations suggesting that 32-42 percent of job losses that have resulted from the coronavirus may be permanent. 

To date, most policy responses to the coronavirus have taken the form of relief, but Harry Holzer from Georgetown University urged a shift toward recovery-related policies that support job creation and strategies to ensure that workers can obtain available jobs. Holzer encouraged policymakers to focus on three important points when deciding which education and training policies to enact:

  • Policy proposals should target support to the highest-need workers, including permanently displaced workers, workers who have experienced involuntary reductions in their hours, low-wage workers in “essential” jobs, and young workers who are new entrants into the labor market.
  • Policies should support education and training for work in high-demand fields.
  • Policies should implement education and training approaches that research has shown to be effective, such as work-based learning and apprenticeship, occupational and career guidance, and financial aid for higher education.

Davis suggested that many of the massive shifts in consumer spending, working arrangements and business practices that have occurred as a result of the pandemic will not fully reverse. For example, working from home, online shopping and delivery, and virtual meetings and interactions may become the norm as people are getting used to these practices and as businesses realize that virtual interactions are often easier and less expensive. Davis encouraged policymakers to think ahead to the future and enact policies that facilitate the shift toward virtual, rather than enacting policies that try to return to the pre-pandemic status quo. 

Michelle Miller-Adams from the W. E. Upjohn Institute encouraged a focus on policies that facilitate a better match between labor supply and demand, including identification of skills shortages and training to meet those needs. She shared a number of state and local examples of programs that support individuals who are disconnected from work, including the concept of neighborhood hubs as a supplement to the workforce system’s one-stop job centers, and the use of technology to provide career guidance and information to job seekers. Miller-Adams also encouraged the expansion of high-quality tuition-free college programs, which include elements such as universal eligibility, embedded student support, strong alignment with employer needs and stable funding; she highlighted the Tennessee Promise and Tennessee Reconnect programs as best practices. 

Meghan Wills, Director of Strategic Initiatives

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New Resource: Talent Pipeline Management® (TPM) Resource Guide: A Compendium for High-Quality CTE

May 20th, 2020

Career Technical Education (CTE) provides learners of all ages with the academic and technical skills, knowledge and training necessary to succeed in future careers. At the heart of high-quality CTE programs is the partnership between employers and educators. Effective, two-way partnership between the employers and educators allows for CTE programs to adapt to the current needs of industry and address talent shortages, while also strengthening the quality of those CTE programs.

However, too often there are disconnects between employers and CTE programs, due to lack of coordination, common language and measures of success. To help bridge this gap, Advance CTE partnered with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Center for Education and Workforce to help develop the Talent Pipeline Management® (TPM) Resource Guide: A Compendium for High-Quality CTE. 

The guide is designed to both introduce TPM as well as enhance the existing TPM movement. It is composed of three major resources:

  1. Resource 1: CTE Orientation to the Employer Community
  2. Resource 2: Employer Orientation to the CTE Community
  3. Resource 3: Improving Employer Engagement in CTE through TPM

 

To develop these critical resources, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation convened a review committee of State CTE Directors and TPM practitioners from across the country to ensure the tools can simultaneously work for CTE and industry leaders. The resources can serve as a primer to CTE for employers (and to employers for CTE), as well as offer concrete and actionable steps to take to build strong partnerships across the two communities in support of CTE programs that fully meet the needs of employers and learners alike.

Help us share: 

Tweet: In partnership with @USCCFeducation, @CTEWorks has contributed to the TPM Resource Guide for High-Quality #CTE, offering guidance on how to build stronger partnerships between employers and CTE educators to improve student outcomes.  #TalentPipelineManagement #CTEWorks

Kate Kreamer, Deputy Executive Director

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This Week in CTE

May 15th, 2020

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

MEMBER OF THE WEEK

This week, Advance CTE welcomes Melissa Hickey as the State CTE Director for the Connecticut State Department of Education. Melissa serves in this role while also leading Reading/Literacy for the state. Top of mind for Melissa is working with business and industry leaders as well as high school and community college leaders to engage in conversations to establish new industry-recognized credentials.

CTE AWARD OF THE WEEK

In Arizona, the J.O. The Unified School District continued the tradition of hosting the annual CTE awards program recognizing students who have completed their CTE program. In addition to the program concentrator awards, a Spirit of CTE Award is presented to a student, advisory board member and community partner for their impact and contribution to the success of the district’s CTE program. View the Spirit of CTE Award winners here. All achievements were announced virtually. 

VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Gavin Schmidt, a Custom, Collision and Restoration student from Batavia Career and Technical Education Center in New York practices his skills while social distancing. Gavin has found an innovative way to keep working on his industry skills by turning his home into a body shop. 

GRANT RECIPIENT OF THE WEEK

United Way of North Texas has announced its seventh round of grant recipients. On the list is Per Scholas, which helps the nation meet the demand of skilled workers in the technology sector. With this grant, Per Scholas will be re-skilling and upskilling learners in preparation for their re-entry into the workforce. 

RESOURCE OF THE WEEK

The Fordham Institute provided a new analysis of data comparing workers with bachelor degrees to workers without one. In the end, job skills and on-the-job training is agreed upon as a necessity for upward mobility across industries. 

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE OF THE WEEK

Advance CTE and the Association for Career and Technical Education has responded to the House’s proposed HEROES Act. View the letter, and all of our responses, on our COVID-19(Coronavirus) state resources page.

Brittany Cannady, Digital Media Associate

Posted in Research, Resources | Comments Off on This Week in CTE

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