|
| |
Section I
Perspective
Overview
Most
Kentuckians studied some aspect of career and technical education in high
school. They didn’t know it, but they did. Whether it was typing, shop,
woodworking, auto mechanics, shorthand, health, agriculture or home economics,
that was career and technical education. Of course, it probably was called a
vocational class. Such is the evolution of the programs – and the need for
these skill sets – that a name change was needed to more accurately describe
the classes. Vocational education became career and technical education.
All
Kentuckians need career and technical education skills to succeed in the modern
workplace and in the emerging global economy. Computer classes are one part of
technology education. Keyboarding classes are one part of business education.
Life skills classes, such as nutrition and health, are part of family and
consumer science education. In the past, students thought vocational programs
were for classmates who could not make it to college. Parents considered the
programs for other people’s children.
Now
that’s all changed. A consistent theme in studies, analysis and reports of
future demographics, workforce and workplace trends is the rapidity of change
and the essential skills individuals must possess to maintain employability. The
forecast is that each individual will change careers seven or more times during
his or her working life. The half-life of computers – that essential tool for
almost every occupation – is three years. (Anyone who thinks an auto mechanic
is a merely a “grease jockey” who throws open the hood of a car, listens to
the engine, and whips out a few tools to complete a tune up never has seen
present-day auto service centers with their computer diagnostics. Nor do they
realize that the top mechanics approach or surpass six-figure annual earnings.)
These essential skills are taught in career and technical education programs
that include core academic courses. The basic reading, writing, and math skills
are needed regardless of the occupation.
Equally
important for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, economic and workforce development
initiatives hinge on a current and future workforce that has the skills business
and industry needs when it makes expansion, relocation or start-up decisions.
Not only must the workforce coming from schools possess career and technical
skills, but also the existing workforce must have access to programs that will
help them upgrade their skills and remain competitive in today’s rapidly
changing workplace. The role of Kentucky’s career and technical education
programs at the middle school, high school, area technology center, technical
college, community college and university levels is critical for economic and
workforce development.
Former
U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich described America as heading toward a
two-class system. One class has the education and the skills to succeed. The
other doesn’t. He urged programs – and was instrumental in establishing the
school-to-work program funded by the federal government – to look at work in
three steps: first jobs, next jobs,
better jobs. In Kentucky, this process is recognized as:
get a job, get a better job, get a career. The first jobs are those
directly out of school. As individuals gain more skills, experience, maturity
and knowledge, they move to the next jobs. Eventually, they get the better jobs.
Along the way, they may need to obtain additional skills to fulfill the career
objective. It is the role of career and technical education – starting in the
middle and high schools, then continuing through technology centers and
postsecondary technical colleges – to work with business and industry to
identify the skill sets needed for success in the workplace and to offer those
classes. Career and technical education is a necessary part of life-long
learning.
There
are two roads an individual can take to achieve the education and skills needed
to be a success. One is to pursue an academic degree and follow a professional
path. The other is to achieve a skill that is in current demand. High school and
technical college graduates with certified skills often can obtain work in
emerging or stable industries that pay well above the national average income.
Have you noticed the sign-on bonus that is being paid to licensed practical
nurses? Have you looked at the competitive pay advertised for truck drivers? Are
you aware of the starting salaries for computer network administrators? All
require skills obtained through career and technical education programs.
Business
and industry is working to establish skill standards for particular occupations.
When set, those standards will be incorporated in career and technical education
programs. Those programs will impart the skills needed to succeed in the
workplace both today and tomorrow. Moreover, the students will learn how to
learn, giving them the ability to adjust their skills or get new skills, when
that inevitable job change happens or they decide it is time for a career move.
Good
things are happening in Kentucky’s career and technical education programs.
Activities in Agriculture, Family and Consumer Science, and Special Needs at the
high school level recently won national recognition. Some programs in the
Commonwealth are testing national skill standards instruction. The legislative
change to merge Kentucky’s community and technical colleges is being viewed
nationally as a model for structuring relevant, postsecondary educational
opportunities that can lead to workforce success. From a practical standpoint,
Toyota, United Parcel Service and dozens of other businesses would not have
located or expanded in Kentucky if it did not make business sense. One part of
the business equation is a skilled workforce.
Although career and
technical education programs are working, we all know that a continuous search
for improvements is necessary to better serve the youth and adults of the
Commonwealth. Working with business and industry, Kentucky’s educational
system – from middle school to graduate school – can improve career and
technical education programs to meet everyone’s needs. By making career and
technical education an integral component of education for all students, we are
really creating a system of workforce education. The Association for Career and
Technical Education noted three successes that can occur when career and
technical education is viewed as workforce education:
-
Workforce
education is a key element in economic
and educational development,
-
Public
understanding of and support for workforce education supports the belief
that all learning contributes to the development of productive citizens, and
-
The
education community understands that preparing all students for careers
benefits students and strengthens public education and the national
interest.
Setting the Stage for Improvement
Career
and technical education is
the integration of academic and technical skills that prepare students to meet
the demands of the workplace in today’s technological society and world
economy.
A
career and technical education student can be anyone –
from any walk of life, from any economic background – who needs skills to get
and keep a job. The student may be in high school, hoping to return to the farm
or start a business. The student may be in an area technology center or
technical college, hoping to get a job on a production line or in another phase
of manufacturing. The student may be on layoff from an industry, obtaining a new
skill to become more employable. The student may be working, trying to improve
personal marketability to other employers.
Career
and technical education programs
recognize that the skills imparted through these courses typically involve
learning by doing. Hands-on learning lets the student comprehend the concept
during the learning process by practicing on an actual project. The programs
incorporate a strong academic component to accompany the skill training. It is
essential for success in a high-tech, global market to possess strong math,
reading, writing, problem-solving and computer skills.
The
modern career and technical educator is
a teacher or administrator who is well educated, not only with technical skills
obtained in a practical workplace setting, but also with a college degree and
full knowledge of the learning process. The image of the career and technical
teacher or administrator is outdated. It is not some retired person or someone
who lost a business and was placed in a classroom to tell students how or how
not to do something. He or she is a skilled, degreed, hands-on professional who
can impart life skills.
Principles
KVA
believes that to improve career and technical education in Kentucky:
-
Teachers
and administrators need to improve the image of career and technical
education. No one can tell the story better than those who work in the
programs – and the successful graduates who are using the skills they
obtained in successful careers.
-
Curriculum
development must be directed to emerging and fast-growing occupations
identified in Kentucky Occupational Outlook to 2005, and that student
organizations must continue to be an integral component of the curriculum.
-
Graduation
requirements must not be so proscriptive as to limit a student’s ability
to obtain career and technical skills and still qualify to attend a public
university in the Commonwealth.
-
Articulation
agreements are needed to assist students in pursuing their educational plan
through high school and area technology centers to community and technical
colleges, or universities.
-
Essential
to the recruitment and training of teachers and administrators are funding,
release time for training, and salaries for entry-level teachers.
-
Career
and technical education teachers and administrators must work with business
and industry partners to improve educational opportunities based on skill
standards and job requirements.
-
All
partners in delivering career and technical education – from middle school
through universities, including state agencies – must collaborate in
building programs to better serve the student body, teaching and support
staff, and all school personnel.
-
Funding
decisions must consider equitable salary schedules, rising operational
costs, professional development needs, technology and equipment enhancement,
new and emerging occupations, and maintenance requirements.
-
Federal
legislation can provide leadership for program development and improvements
through additional appropriations.
|
