Career and Technical Education (CTE)
If you are trying to figure out what career to pursue after high school, but college is not an option you want to pursue now, a Career and Technical Education (CTE) can be an excellent option to prepare for your future career.
Career and technical education options train people for a variety of jobs requiring a specific talent, such as a career in law enforcement, nanotechnology, robotics, graphic design, Web architecture, mechanical opportunities and others. The experts teaching at these schools often help their students identify potential employers and apply for jobs.
More and more, career and technical training programs offer a variety of opportunities to learn or hone a skill or passion. If you have concerns that a technical program may have a limitation or reputation that would prevent you from exploring this option, read Georgina Gustin’s article related to the new opportunities that skill programs are offering.
Vocational education is shifting focus
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Friday, Dec. 15 2006
It was once the refuge of high school students who weren’t headed to college; for the kids who didn’t excel at academics or preferred getting their hands dirty. But "vocational" education - the former province of budding mechanics, welders and secretaries - is shedding its grease-stained, dictation-taking image.
“It used to be that vocational ed was grimy,” said Cindy Gagich, of Granite City High School, which has a long tradition of job-focused teaching. “But it’s shifting. Now it’s engineering and Web design. It’s training for white-collar jobs.”
Signifying the changes, recent federal legislation even gave vocational education a new label. Now, officially, it’s Career and Technical Education, or CTE. And the new CTE can mean anything from nanotechnology to robotics to biomedical sciences.
“With technology it’s absolutely changing,” said Gayle Appel, director of instruction at O’Fallon Township High School, in O’Fallon, Ill. “We no longer teach shorthand or office machines - it’s all computer-driven. No longer is it drafting with a pencil, it’s a computer program. Electronics is now digital electronics.”
The increasing sophistication of CTE courses has meant more students. Since 2000, the number of high school and college students taking CTE courses across the nation has jumped from roughly 9.6 million to 15.1 million, according to the Department of Education, and educators believe those numbers will climb even higher.
Some schools in Missouri and Illinois, too, are seeing a rise in demand for classes and enrollment. In Madison County, which appears to be leading the way, the numbers have already started to inch upward countywide over the past several years.
“It used to be ’Here’s how to make a cake,’” said Cynthia Garcia, the coordinator for CTE programs in Madison County. “Now it’s ’What was the chemical reaction of the ingredients?’”
Educators have theorized that the interest stems from several things: rising college tuition, coupled with the sometimes dim prospects of a high-paying job upon graduating with a four-year degree; and the increased demand for high-skilled jobs that require technical, rather than academic, training.
Cheryl Hood coordinates CTE programs in six St. Clair County high schools. She said, “I think we send too many kids to four-year-degree schools. Not all jobs require a four-year degree. If a student is content and makes good money, if they’re a productive citizen and happy, then why are we pushing them to four-year degrees?”
Job-focused training has long been a component of American high schools. As many schools attempt reform, hands-on, applied learning - the essence of CTE programs - is getting more attention.
“Schools are trying to show students the relevance of applied learning,” said Alisha Hyslop of the Virginia-based Association for Career and Technical Education. “School reform models are taking their cues from CTE.”
For example, Hyslop explained, one model is the career academies model, in which students are grouped by area of interest throughout their high school career.
In some schools CTE classes are even being applied toward academic credit and graduation requirements. At O’Fallon Township High School, for example, students who take a CTE course in electronics can earn an academic science credit.
“Any time you can teach academics in an applied manner, kids can grasp it better,” said Appel.
At the same time, the economy is demanding that high-skilled blue-collar workers have a higher level of sophisticated training. That means high school students who want those jobs often start their training earlier, and, increasingly, they need associate degrees from community colleges to secure them.
“There’s a lot of competition for jobs, good jobs, out there, and they won’t be ready for those jobs until they have the training,” said Randy Dillon, director of technical education for the Special School District of St. Louis County, which provides services to 23 districts and runs two technical high schools. “Kids are pretty sensitive about where things are heading. They see the need for getting some skills.”
Dillon said enrollment at the two high schools in the district is climbing because more students are making the switch to a vocational track. And more graduates are going on to two-year colleges for additional training, while a few are parlaying the more sophisticated coursework into academic, four-year degrees.
While the schools focus on more of the traditional vocational areas, like welding and auto body, they also offer courses in robotics, EMT training and law enforcement.
“You should see some of our diagnostic equipment,” Dillon said. “It’s way more mental than it is physical.”
Some schools are struggling to keep up with demand. In the Hazelwood school district, for example, there are more students who want certain CTE courses than there are teachers. The district has recognized the need for more classes and has launched a pre-engineering program. Next year it plans to add a biomedical program, a pilot and the first of its kind in the state. The program will be on the CTE track but is taught by science teachers.
“That’s where CTE is going,” said Gail Stewart, who coordinates CTE programs for the district. “We’re not building birdhouses. We’re doing things that people need, especially in this area, with all the hospitals and research going on.”
Some changes in CTE are under way because of the recent reauthorization of the Perkins Act, the decades-old federal legislation that supports vocational training in high schools and community colleges. Under new rules, schools that receive Perkins funding must have programs geared to either high-skilled, high-demand or high-wage jobs, and those programs must be approved by the state. The law also demands more integrated teaching that recognizes the crossover potential between CTE and academic classes.
“We’re continuing to see how academic teachers and CTE teachers can work together,” said Nancy Headrick, of the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. “How can a geometry teacher take something (a student) is doing in a construction trades class so they can apply it in geometry class and say, ’I get it.’”
Yet, while the new Perkins legislation is bolstering CTE and was seen as a victory by many educators, other federal and state mandates are making life difficult for CTE students, teachers and administrators. In both Missouri and Illinois, recently increased graduation requirements are forcing students to take more academic classes, leaving little room for electives.
The number of students taking CTE has dipped in both states in recent years, but educators expect those numbers to climb quickly. Ultimately, it will be up to the students and their place in a changing economy.
“Demand from the students drives it,” said Stewart, of the Hazelwood district. “And that demand comes from what’s needed in the business world. We have to provide the programs.”
Before enrolling in a school, do your homework. Here are a few things to consider:
- Will I need additional training or education to get the job I want, or can I gain experience “on the job?”
- Are there less costly training alternatives available to me aside from vocational programs?
- Have I compared all of the programs that are available to me? Are they all accredited?
- Are the instructors qualified to train me in the area I want an expertise?
- What is the program’s success rate?
- Are there hidden costs like class fees? What will class support materials cost me?
- Check with your state Better Business Bureau to determine former students’ satisfaction with the program.
If you are considering a CTE but haven’t graduated from high school, getting your GED may be the option for you.
The GED, or General Educational Development Testing Service, is for students who did not finish high school and still want to achieve the same status as graduating high school. You can find more information online at GED or by talking with your high school guidance counselor.
Before you take the GED, you will have to become prepared. You can go to your guidance counselor and obtain information about the test or you can go online to GED and find out necessary information about the test. There’s helpful information on what to expect, and tips on how to perform at your best on the test. You can also find information and support from sources like Kaplan, The Princeton Review, Plato Learning, and Barron’s Books for studying.
Regardless of what test you take, test day will be long. Be sure you get a lot of sleep the night before, eat a healthy breakfast, and follow the hemophilia treatment regimen recommended by your doctor. The last thing you want to think about during a test is a bleed!
After the test is over, call the local test center where you took the test and ask when your scores will be in and inform the test center where you will want the scores sent.
If you have questions about any of the tests discussed here you should talk with your guidance counselor and have him or her go into full detail regarding each test and what to expect with each test. Good luck!
