Last week, over 200 leaders in Career Technical Education came together in Washington, D.C. for the annual Spring Meeting to collaborate, learn, and honor our Excellence in Action and Star of Education award recipients. Attendees and speakers took to Twitter to keep the conversation going. Below are the top 10 tweets from the meeting.

Thank you @CTEWorks for supporting the role of school counselors! It was an honor to speak to your group! #ctespringmtg Amazing work in CTE

— Terri Tchorzynski (@ttchorzynski) May 3, 2017

CTE offers high school plus! In addition to the regular experience, CTE is a value added opportunity. #CTESpringMtg

— Donna Brant (@DonnaBrant1) May 2, 2017

Good news for #careerteched from Advance CTE/Siemens research! #CTESpringMtg pic.twitter.com/4aSdxVaU6o

— Steve DeWitt (@edheadsteve) May 2, 2017

"Let's shift from what's wrong to what's strong" to support student engagement & success ~@TimHodges402 #CTEspringmtg

— Melissa Reynolds (@mareynolds33) May 2, 2017

Fortunate to collaborate with educational leaders from across the nation for CTE… learning that works for Indiana students! #CTESpringMtg pic.twitter.com/91oflAYaPo

— Amanda McCammon (@DirectorPK16DOE) May 2, 2017

Great team of Culinary and Hospitality educators! #CTESpringMtg pic.twitter.com/LKAmJ9jL62

— Zach Moore (@theJESAJedi) May 3, 2017

@CTEWorks I was honored to participate on this national Career and Technical Education panel related to school choice. #EducationFL #cteSpringMtg

— Rod Duckworth (@DuckworthRod) May 3, 2017

.@MichaelPetrilli: "CTE's time has come" #CTEspringmtg

— Austin Estes (@austin_estes) May 3, 2017

#CTESpringMtg opening panel with #CCSSO ED Chris Minnich & Sarah Stienberg from JP Morgan Chase. Great – direct – comments and observations. pic.twitter.com/DOwuYJnuyn

— Ed Dennis (@EdDennis1) May 3, 2017

Career and Technical Education Should Be the Rule, Not the Exception #CTESpringMtg https://t.co/Nvy65URUcA

— Tim Hodges (@TimHodges402) May 2, 2017

Last week, we held the 2017 Advance CTE Spring Meeting, which brought over 200 participants from across the country together to dive into all things CTE. From digging into new research to updates on federal policy, hear what our staff had to say as they reflected on this year’s meeting in this three-part series. 

Everyone working in the CTE field knows that we regularly face major communications challenges, often needing to combat negative misconceptions many still hold when it comes to our programs and pathways. Given the urgency and importance of these challenges, we dedicated much of Tuesday to digging into polling data and effective messaging around CTE for all students.

Tim Hodges kicked off Tuesday with a keynote exploring a wide array of Gallup’s data that made the case for high-quality CTE. For example, students and parents are increasingly unengaged in their schools, with only 50% of students strongly agreeing that they get to do what they do best every day.  What most stood out to me were the experiences of college graduates who were the most likely to be successful upon graduation (and engaged in their work) – having mentors, participating in internships where they applied their learning and long-term projects – are all hallmarks of high-quality CTE programs. The challenge is that too few students – in K-12 or in postsecondary – have access to these opportunities or even know about them.

Tim’s presentation perfectly set the stage for leaders from Edge Research to then share Advance CTE’s new communications research (released last month) on how to best engage parents and students around the value and promise of CTE.  The Edge team shared some of the most inspiring findings from the focus groups and national survey – like the fact that parents and students engaged in CTE are twice as likely to be “very satisfied” with their education compared to those not involved in CTE – and unpacked some lessons learned around messaging.

Later in the afternoon, I had the opportunity to jointly lead workshops for over 50 meeting participants with Katie Fitzgerald, where we dug into the big takeaways from the research, including “do’s and don’ts,” such as DO use consistent messages, DO leverage the student voice and story and DON’T market CTE as the “non-college” option given parents and students need to know CTE can be a path to postsecondary options, as well as careers.

These are big, thorny challenges that will not be solved over night or by any single person – and it will take a significant shift in how we all talk about CTE and its many benefits to learners.  But we are just getting started and Advance CTE is 100% committed to helping our members and partners strengthen their recruitment strategies and overall messaging around CTE to parents and students.

Kate Kreamer, Deputy Executive Director, Advance CTE

The Spring Meeting was an amazing opportunity for me to meet Advance CTE’s members! While I couldn’t meet everyone, the members I met were smart, insightful, and passionate about their work. I was continuously impressed by their desire to both dive into complex issues and discuss potential solutions regardless of topic area during informal conversations and breakout sessions alike. Whether members were looking at including work-based learning in their accountability systems, better understanding the role of school counselors in career guidance, or determining how to best meet the needs of rural students, they weren’t afraid to dig into the challenges and share successes. It was truly inspiring to see their commitment to continuous improvement and their dedication to student success. I’m excited to be joining the CTE community and look forward to engaging with more of our members virtually and in upcoming conferences and meetings!

Another highlight of the Spring Meeting was the vibrant discussion around CTE policy! Sessions throughout the meeting touched on the major pieces of federal legislation that intersect with CTE. On Tuesday, leaders from states that are building career readiness into their accountability systems under ESSA shared their stories and examples, which are particularly relevant as states finalize their ESSA plans. In a panel discussion on Thursday, national experts on higher education shared what they see as the opportunities in the Higher Education Act (HEA) to strengthen connections to CTE. The entire panel provided unique insights on the biggest debates ahead and also touched on the areas in which the law could better serve the needs of today’s post-secondary students, something that is at the forefront of my mind as we approach discussions around HEA reauthorization in the coming months. In a particularly timely session, Congressional staff participated in a panel about the new Perkins reauthorization bill and our members had the opportunity to get their questions answered! Each session provided me with a better understanding of the particular policy ideas and issues that are most pressing and important to our members. All in all, it was a tremendous learning experience and I can’t wait for the Fall Meeting!

Kathryn Zekus, Senior Associate, Federal Policy

This post is written by the Manufacturing Skill Standards Council, a Gold Level sponsor of the 2017 Advance CTE Spring Meeting.

The Manufacturing Skill Standards Council (MSSC) is the nation’s leading industry-led training, assessment and certification organization focused on the core technical competencies needed by the nation’s frontline production and material handling workers. The nationwide MSSC certifications, based upon industry-defined and federally endorsed national standards, offer both entry-level and incumbent workers the opportunity to demonstrate that they have acquired the knowledge and skills increasingly needed in the technology-intensive advanced manufacturing and logistics jobs of the 21st century. MSSC applies to all frontline manufacturing production jobs (6 million) and all front-line material handling and distribution jobs (6.1 million). MSSC has developed two nationally portable certifications for this workforce:

Certified Production Technician (CPT): The CPT Certification addresses the core technical competencies of higher skilled production workers in all sectors of manufacturing. MSSC awards certificates to individuals who pass any of its five Production Modules: Safety, Quality Practices & Measurement, Manufacturing Processes & Production, Maintenance Awareness and Green Production and a full CPT Certification to those who pass all four core modules (Note: Green is not required for full-CPT certification.)

Certified Logistics Technician (CLT): The CLT Certification addresses the core technical competencies of higher skilled, frontline material handling workers in all supply chain facilities: in factories, warehouses, distribution centers and transportation companies. MSSC awards the foundational-level Certified Logistics Associate (CLA) certificate and the mid-level CLT certification. CLA is a prerequisite for CLT.

CPT and CLT are the only national industry certifications, for both manufacturing and logistics, accredited under ISO 17024 (personnel certification) and endorsed by the National Association of Manufacturers.

“20/20” Vision

Approved by its Board in 2010, MSSC’s vision is to credential 20 percent of individuals entering or employed in the nation’s front-line manufacturing production and material handling workforce in 20 years—2.4 million workers by 2030. To achieve that goal, MSSC offers industry a new set of tools to ensure that both entering and incumbent workers are flexible, easily trainable, and highly motivated knowledge workers able to keep pace with technological change—the “Industrial Athlete of the Future.”

MSSC benefits to employers include:

• A pipeline of skilled workers by embedding MSSC certification training into schools
• Decreased recruitment costs by providing job candidates with industry-recognized credentials
• Elimination of remedial training costs by providing well prepared workers
• A new ISO standard in certificates companies can use as a common practice throughout their global operations
• Increased ROI for training by targeting it against the gaps identified by the MSSC Diagnostic Tool
• An aid to attracting, motivating and retaining qualified employees

The federal National Skill Standards Board formally recognized MSSC as the standards and certification “Voluntary Partnership” for all manufacturing sectors in 1998 and officially endorsed MSSC’s national standards in 2001 which were developed and nationally validated by 700 companies, 378 educational organizations and most industrial unions. MSSC has since been used by the U.S. Departments of Labor, Education, Defense and Veterans Affairs, as well as Job Corps and both Federal and State Prison Systems. MSSC is a Founding Partner in the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM)-endorsed Skills Certification System, which has endorsed both CPT and CLT.

MSSC provides annually updated standards, courses, computer-based training materials, textbooks, instructor authorization, assessment center authorization, a national registry, assessments, credentials and diagnostic tools for employers. Companies may use these tools themselves or work through their local community colleges, high schools, unions or other training providers. Individuals can also earn college credit for MSSC courses (three hours each for core CPT modules, two hours for GPM and four hours for full-CLT) based upon the National College Credit Recommendation Service (NCCRS) course review.

MSSC’s delivers these tools through a nationwide network of over 1,760 trained instructors and 998 authorized assessment centers in 49 states, DC, and three centers internationally. To date, MSSC has given over 141,300 assessments and issued over 105,500 credentials.

To obtain a full description of MSSC certification system tools and price sheets, including volume discounts, please contact Neil Reddy, Executive Director, at [email protected] or at 703-739-9000, ext. 2221.