CTE and employers: a perfect match.

Voytek, Steve ; Blosveren, Kate

EMPLOYER INVOLVEMENT HAS BEEN ONE OF THE DEFINING features of career and technical education (CTE) since its inception. Given policymakers' intense focus on closing the skills gap--and the growing awareness that CTE is part of the solution to do so--it is expected that the next reauthorization of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act will include more specific requirements that promote more consistent and deeper employer engagement in CTE. The value of employer engagement in CTE is evident, but the challenge is structuring policy in the most effective way to ensure that such engagement by employers is truly beneficial.

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When employers meaningfully engage in CTE, the positive outcomes are numerous. For one, CTE-employer partnerships can help boost the capacity and visibility of individual programs--something that has become increasingly vital as federal, state and local funding for education comes under increased pressure. Employers also play a critical role in helping to develop and validate standards, curricula, assessments and credentials to ensure their relevance in the workforce. And work-based learning opportunities, which allow students to explore various careers before graduation and determine with greater certainty which occupational fields they will excel in, cannot occur without strong employer-CTE engagement.

The potential benefits for employers are equally as compelling. Employer involvement in CTE can reduce the costs of future training by ensuring programs are teaching the most relevant and in-demand skills. Engagement also affords employers the opportunity to recruit the most talented potential employees before they even enter the labor market. Employer involvement in CTE, and education more broadly, can raise the profile of a particular company or industry in a state or local community and, in turn, help promote their brand or products.

According to recent research by the National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium (NASDCTEc), nearly every state is already leveraging Perkins to increase or encourage employer engagement at the local level, typically by requiring local advisory councils. A handful of states also require work-based learning initiatives, employer-supported professional development or even in-kind or monetary donations as prerequisites for receiving Perkins funding. However, these levers are used with varying degrees across states. Many states are also using state-level policies, programs and initiatives to accelerate employer engagement across the CTE system, with many bright spots emerging all over the country.

The case is clear: Employer engagement in CTE is valuable and worthy of additional legislative focus in Congress. As policymakers look to address the nation's skills gap, it is critical that they look to CTE--with all its valuable employer partnerships--as a key tool in meeting the needs of students, communities and employers. While NASDCTEc and ACTE will continue to share this with members of Congress, all stakeholders in the CTE community, including employers already engaged, can amplify our message by sharing their own positive experiences and outcomes with CTE-employer partnerships with policymakers at all levels. Tech

By Steve Voytek and Kate Blosveren

Steve Voytek is the government relations manager at NASDCTEc. He can be reached at svoytek@careertech.org.

Kate Blosveren is the associate executive director at NASDCTEc. Contact her at kblosveren@careertech.org.