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ERIC Number: EJ1229644
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Sep
Pages: 5
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1540-8000
EISSN: N/A
Aligning CTE Courses to Local Labor Markets
Northern, Amber M.; Petrilli, Michael J.
State Education Standard, v19 n3 p25-29 Sep 2019
The 2018 reauthorization of the Perkins Act--the principal federal program supporting career and technical education (CTE)--expressly aims to "align workforce skills with labor market needs." But it does little to define or operationalize such alignment. Likewise, the Foundation for Excellence in Education admonishes states to phase out "dead end" CTE programs that "do not reflect labor market demand" and "develop new programs of study to address gaps in industry demand." Here's the catch: Every local labor market is different. Occupations that might be a smart bet in Canton may not be so in Kansas City. High school graduates tend not to move to where the jobs are. Specifically, "the median distance Americans live from their mother is 18 miles, and only 20 percent live more than a couple of hours' drive from their parents." As state boards of education begin work on their long-term plans to implement Perkins V, they will need to reckon with young people's immobility. Students' hometowns need to do far better at readying them to succeed at local colleges and in local careers, and state boards and state education agencies can do much to help make CTE courses more relevant to local labor markets. Four ideas are detail that could assist state boards and state education agencies in achieving that goal.
National Association of State Boards of Education. 2121 Crystal Drive Suite 350, Arlington, VA 22202. Tel: 800-368-5023; Tel: 703-684-4000; Fax: 703-836-2313; e-mail: boards@nasbe.org; Web site: http://www.nasbe.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: High Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A