Career Pathways 101: A Tour Guide

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Career Pathways 101 A Tour Guide
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Career Pathways Perkins

• Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education
  Act of 2006
• Reauthorized from 1998 legislation
• Reauthorized through fiscal year 2012
• Purpose of the Act
• To develop more fully the academic and career and
  technical skills of secondary education students
  and postsecondary education students who elect to
  enroll in career and technical education programs

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Perkins Funds

• Louisiana Community Technical College System
• Postsecondary
• Technical College Campuses
• Community College Campuses
• Universities with 2-year Associate Degrees in CTE
  Programs
• Secondary (grades 8-12) through State
  Department of Education
• Parish School Systems
• City School Districts
• Special School Districts

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Perkins Requirements

• Build on efforts of states and localities to
  develop challenging academic and technical
  standards to assist students in preparation for
  high-skill, high-wage or high-demand occupations
• Promote the development of services and
  activities that integrate rigorous and
  challenging academic and career and technical
  instruction, and that link secondary education
  and postsecondary education
• Support partnerships among secondary schools,
  postsecondary institutions, baccalaureate degree
  granting institutions, area career and technical
  education schools, local workforce boards,
  business and industry
• Provide individuals with opportunities throughout
  their lifetimes to develop, in conjunction with
  other education and training programs, the
  knowledge and skills needed to keep the United
  States competitive

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What are Career Clusters?

• Groupings of occupations and industries
• Based on common Knowledge and Skills
• Organizing tools for curriculum design
• Guidance model
• Instructional model

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How were clusters developed?

• U.S. Department of Education
• National Association of State Directors of Career
  Technical Education Consortium (NASDCTEc)
• National Advisory Committees (each cluster)
• Business and Industry
• Labor
• Government
• Education (secondary postsecondary)

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16 Career Clusters
16 clusters which include validated knowledge and
skills
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Career Clusters as a Tool

• Blends rigorous academic/technical preparation
• Provides career planning
• Offers options for students to experience all
  aspects of an industry
• Facilitates/assists students with transitions

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Cluster Approach

• Strategy to organize instruction and student
  experience around career themes
• Incorporates existing school reform strategies
  (career academies, small learning communities,
  etc.)
• Connects to business and higher education
• Connects academic, technical and employability
  knowledge and skills

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Career Clusters DO NOT

• Take away current programs
• Take away occupational areas
• Track learners into a single job

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Career Clusters DO

• Provide a framework that current programs slot
  into
• Provide a framework for seamless education
• Provide MORE career options for learners
• Provide a framework for addressing the entire
  world of work
• Provide a picture of how Knowledge and Skills
  transfer vertically and horizontally

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Career Clusters Framework
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Foundation KS Topics

• Academics
• Communications
• Problem Solving and Critical Thinking
• Information Technology
• Systems
• Safety, Health and Environment
• Leadership and Teamwork
• Ethics and Legal Responsibility
• Employability and Career Development
• Technical Skills

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Career Pathways

• A coherent, articulated sequence of rigorous
  academic and career courses, commencing in the
  9th grade and leading to an associate degree,
  and/or an industry-recognized certificate or
  licensure, and/or a baccalaureate degree and
  beyond
• Developed, implemented, and maintained in
  partnership among secondary and postsecondary
  education, business, and employers
• Formulated by grouping professions that require
  similar talents, knowledge and skills
• Available to all students, including adult
  learners
• Designed to lead to rewarding careers

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Occupational Specialties

• Specific occupations within the cluster / pathway
• Advanced skills typically taught for a particular
  occupation

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Pathway Model
www.careerclusters.org
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Programs of Study

• State developed or approved programs, which may
  be adopted by local education agencies and
  postsecondary institutions to be offered as an
  option to students when planning for and
  completing future coursework for career and
  technical content areas
• Incorporate secondary and postsecondary elements
• Include coherent and rigorous content aligned
  with challenging academic standards and relevant
  career and technical content in a coordinated,
  non-duplicative progression of courses that align
  secondary education with postsecondary education
  to adequately prepare students to succeed in
  postsecondary education
• May include the opportunity for secondary
  education students to participate in dual or
  concurrent enrollment programs or other ways to
  acquire postsecondary education credits
• Lead to an industry-recognized credential or
  certificate at the postsecondary level, or an
  associate or baccalaureate degree

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Sample Program of Study
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Put it all together !

• Career Cluster (16)
• Student will choose after career guidance and
  exploration
• Career Pathway (81)
• Student will choose a pathway within the cluster
  that narrows the career choice
• Program of Study (endless)
• Student will use the Program of Study to plan
  high school course selection to prepare for
  postsecondary education or career choice
• Personal Plan of Study (each student)
• Students personal plan of coursework
• Revisited annually

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Where do clusters fit?

• Elementary, Middle and Comprehensive High Schools
• Career Academies
• Small Learning Communities
• Regional Career Centers
• Magnet Schools
• Technical Colleges
• Community Colleges
• Business and Industry

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Educational System Model

• Career Awareness (Grades K-5)
• Career Exploration (Grades 6-8)
• Career Preparation/Transportable Skills (Grades
  9-postsecondary)
• Advanced Technical Skills/Continuing
  Education/Lifelong Learning

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Benefits

• How does the career clusters/career pathways
  approach affect
• Students
• Teachers/Faculty
• Counselors
• Schools
• Business/Industry
• Parents

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Students

• Enhances academic achievement by providing
  real-world relevance
• Provides opportunities to explore multiple
  pathways
• Helps relate high profile careers to real life
  situations
• Eases transition between education levels and
  into workforce (and maybe quicker)

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Teachers/Faculty

• Curriculum can be tailored to the needs of the
  community
• Opportunity to integrate CTE and traditional
  academics
• Opportunity to enhance academic achievement for
  all students
• Learners are more focused and engaged

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Counselors

• Connects learner interest with coursework
• Helps explain to students the need for course
  selection / requirements
• Motivates students to reach higher academic
  achievement
• Helps counsel students towards appropriate
  postsecondary education
• Shows relevance of school to postsecondary and
  lifelong learning

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Secondary Schools

• Broadens the scope of existing curricula
• Encourages coordination among faculty
• Provides a framework for curriculum alignment

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Postsecondary Schools

• Learners who have established a career path
• Learners with better academic skills and in need
  of less remediation

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Business/Industry

• Provides a well qualified workforce which can
  quickly adapt to changing needs
• Gives them the opportunity for input in school
  curriculum
• Builds a framework for cross-training or
  re-tooling the workforce

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Parents

• Their child has a smoother entry into
  postsecondary education
• Their child will be more prepared for making
  better career decisions
• savings in education costs

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Getting Started

• Recognize the need for school-wide change
• Involve the community
• Build staff capacity
• Identify career themes
• Develop advisory boards
• Focus on professional development

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What does all this mean?

• Career Clusters are a part of our future.
• They are a win-win for learners, parents,
  educators, and businesses.
• They are flexible.
• They fit into any educational setting.

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What about Louisiana?

• Louisiana has adopted 16 career clusters
• 70 career pathways have been designated
  throughout state
• Programs of study developed at state meeting
• DOE, LCTCS, BOR working together
• State articulation agreements signed
• High School ReDesign committed to change

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Resources

• States Career Clusters Initiative
• www.careerclusters.org
• Preferred Product/Technical Assistance Providers
• Brochures, Posters, Resources CD
• Pathway Models
• Interest Inventory
• Career Clusters Tour Guide, Modules 1 2
• 8th Annual Career Clusters Institute June
  14-16, 2010 Denver, CO

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Resources

• College and Career Transitions Iniviative (CCTI)
• www.league.org
• Funded by the U.S. Department of Education
• League for Innovation in the Community College
• Leaders in development of the Programs of Study
• League for Innovation Summit March 28-31, 2010
  Baltimore, MD

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Contact Information
Melba Kennedy, Program Coordinator for Secondary
to Postsecondary Transitions Louisiana Community
Technical College System 265 South Foster
Drive Baton Rouge LA 70806 Phone
225-922-2787 mkennedy_at_lctcs.edu
Terri Cedars, CCT Coordinator Region 7 South
Partnership LTC Natchitoches Campus PO Box
657 Natchitoches LA 71457 Phone
318-357-7003 tcedars_at_ltc.edu
Cheryl Probst, CCT Coordinator Region 6 East
Partnership 508 John Dale Drive, Suite B Vidalia
LA 71373 Phone [phone] x 15246 Cell
318-308-4789 cheryl.probst_at_ltc.edu
Donnis Poe, CCT Coordinator Region 6 West
Partnership LTC Alexandria Campus PO Box
5698 Alexandria LA 71307-5698 Phone [phone]
x 125 Cell 318-308-5308 donnis.poe_at_ltc.edu