AWFS celebrates Career and Technical Education Month® a public awareness campaign, hosted by ACTE and sponsored by NAHB, that takes place each February to celebrate the value of CTE and the achievements and accomplishments of CTE programs across the country. Visit ctemonth.org to get involved.
Career Technical Education (CTE) provides students with technical and professional skills, education, and training to prepare for the workforce. CTE is a critical area of study with proven benefits for students. For example, according to AdvanceCTE, “the high school graduation rate for CTE concentrators is about 90 percent – 15 percentage points higher than the national average.”
How does CTE help your company? CTE programs prepare students to join your workforce! By now we all know that we have a serious workforce shortage in our industry. It’s difficult to find a company who is not impacted by it – either in their own workforce or their suppliers’ or customers’ (or a combination). There are many factors that affect this current environment, but we ALL need to do our part to spread the word about careers in our industry and encourage new talent to join our current and future workforce.
Here are some tips and resources for connecting with schools to strengthen your workforce:
— Building relationships with schools is (almost*) ALWAYS a local effort. It requires research and inquiry to find out which schools in your area have programs and how you can partner with them. *There are also some great national-level post secondary training programs that value industry support and engagement!
— Building relationships takes TIME. This is not an overnight “fix” but a long-term commitment. Start “small”, by attending the school’s CTE or program advisory committee meeting. Get to know the program and the educators and school/district administrators. Attend any events they open to Business & Industry guests (i.e. student competitions, recognition ceremonies, fundraisers). This can lead to you speaking in the classroom about your career or company, volunteering, or other opportunities. It tends to work best if partners on both sides take time to allow the relationship to develop, keep communication open and active, and don’t focus on their personal agendas — and this often allows unanticipated opportunities and positive outcomes to blossom!
— Explore education and workforce partners at ALL levels: middle school, high school, and post secondary (community college, technical schools, and 4 year schools). Don’t forget about adult learner programs, veteran retraining programs, and second chance training programs (for formerly incarcerated individuals). Your area also likely has a Workforce Investment Board (WIB), Workforce Development Board (WDB) or similar entity whose purpose is to help employers strengthen their workforce. Finally, engage with your state’s MEP (Manufacturing Extension Partnership), which helps small and mid-sized businesses with workforce (and many other) needs.
— Explore “Career Technical Student Organizations” (CTSOs) and find out which ones have active chapters at your local schools. These organizations help students learn about and strengthen their technical and professional skills to prepare in their chosen career field. SkillsUSA supports students in skilled trades, including Cabinetmaking. Others like DECA and FBLA help students pursuing careers in business leadership and marketing. In addition to CTSO’s, clubs and programs like FIRST Robotics foster students’ passion and enhance their technical learning while helping them connect with industry.
If you are struggling to find a school or partner in your area, you can still contribute:
— Pathful Connect (fka Nepris) – Connecting Industry to Classrooms : It is free and easy to set up an industry professional account on Pathful Connect. Once you are set up, you can be invited to serve as a virtual classroom guest speaker. Schools across the country can find you on the Pathful Connect platform and ask you to speak to their students. The school will provide information about what they would like you to share (generally information about your career, company, and industry) and they will identify the date and time (you always have the choice to accept or decline the invitation). The speaking engagements are usually 30 minutes or less and Pathful Connect and the school facilitate everything – they make it very easy – you just have to log on and talk! *NOTE: all Pathful Connect virtual classroom guest speakers must first pass a background check, for which Pathful Connect facilitates and covers the fees.
Check out this guest speaker presentation with Hank M. from Stiles Machinery for a middle school Career Day in 2022.
We need your help in introducing students and job seekers to our industry! Do you have a young professional at your company that we can highlight for the YouWood campaign, or a Cue Career interview? Do you have an upcoming event that is student or educator-friendly? Do you have photos or a video “tour” of your facility, showcasing your production environment and machinery? If so, please contact AWFS Association Director Adria Salvatore (adria@awfs.org).
If you have any questions about these resources or have other suggestions or resources to suggest, please contact AWFS Association Director Adria Salvatore (adria@awfs.org).