Who will do the work?
This is a question that will affect public education as we move into the 21st century. It is well documented through the media of the upcoming retirements of the Baby Boomer generation in the next five to 10 years, but are we prepared to fill the gaps in skilled workers to replace them?
The present philosophy of public education does not adequately address this issue, because we continue to focus on preparing our students to enter four-year colleges. The National Governors Association and National School Boards Association are starting to address the significant labor shortages in skilled workers.
Current statistics provided by the U.S. Department of Labor tell us that only 30 percent of the jobs in the 21st century will require a four-year college degree. Therefore, the majority of our work force will come from the skilled pathway curriculum available in our secondary education system. This is where we will find the work force to repair our cars, fix our furnaces and air-conditioning systems, build or remodel our homes and work in our medical facilities.
The skilled pathway is defined by the West Virginia Department of Education in State Policy 2510. This policy directs school systems in the curricular offerings available to students who are not necessarily going to a four-year college. However, it is aligned to provide students the opportunity after graduation to continue their education at the post-secondary level through local career and technical centers and community and technical colleges such as Cabell County Career Technology Center and Marshall Community and Technical College.
Employer surveys tell us that a high school diploma/GED in conjunction with technical training that provides skill set mastery and state or national industry-recognized certifications are critical job requirements for 21st century employment. We are faced with shortages of health care workers, welders, machinists, heating/air-conditioning mechanics and many other skilled workers.
The opportunity for skill training currently exists in the Cabell County school system but is poorly utilized by our students because of a lack of parental knowledge and/or involvement in the student scheduling process, the lack of a career guidance system from K-12 to inform students of career options other than college, long-standing stigmas attached to vocational students and vocational education and students avoiding challenging technical courses by selecting easier classes, which often lack rigor and relevance.
The last example also has a negative effect in reducing career and occupational courses (challenging courses) in our high schools due to a lack of enrollment because of an antiquated method of scheduling. Our school staffing decisions are based upon student request each year. Once programs close because of this issue, career opportunities are lost forever.
The Cabell County Career Technology Center offers 15 high-level skill training programs such as Administrative Medical Office Assistant, CISCO, HVAC, Machine Tool Technology, and Practical Nursing for high school and adult students. Both Cabell Midland and Huntington High School also offer selected career and technical programs. You can view our complete Cabell County schools course listings on our Web site at http://boe.cabe.k12.wv.us.
You can also explore other excellent high-paying careers that do not require a college degree and their salaries at http://careertech.k12.wv.us/pathwaystosuccess.
Go to one of the program areas and select it. Under the heading at the top, select "OCCUPATIONS AND WAGES." That will give you all the occupations in that subject area. You can see the wide range of jobs available and their salaries for West Virginia and elsewhere in the nation.
All of our programs offer the opportunity to advance to post-secondary education upon completion and carry college credit through dual credit or the Tech Prep Consortium for EDGE credit (Earn a Degree Graduate Early) through Marshall Community and Technical College. High school students can start earning college credit as early as the 10th grade by enrolling this spring.
I would like to invite the public to visit our center. Please call me at (304) 528-5106 or e-mail me at rmcclain@access.k12.wv.us to arrange a tour.
Robert McClain is a Cabell County Career Technology Center administrator.
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