Thursday, March 23, 2023
"We must challenge our myopic view that emphasizing the importance of career pathways is about limiting students, or the view that it’s four-year-college or bust. Advancing career pathways in high schools is about more options for students, not less. What it does is prepare them for the careers of today with options, and in some cases, their employer will pay for their future education. If we do this well, our graduates will be able to compete on a global stage."—U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, January 24, 2023 speech
In keeping with Secretary Cardona's remarks, Wisconsin must ensure that all students have equal access to career readiness programs and services. And, as outlined in Education for Employment (E4E) and Academic and Career Planning (ACP) state statute, it should begin in the elementary grades so students have the time it takes to graduate ready for success in their careers, postsecondary education, and community.
Currently, opportunities for students to participate vary greatly from district to district. Career-based learning experiences, such as career fairs and job shadowing, complement career education in classrooms. And student access to career pathway programs–including a sequence of career and technical education courses, work-based learning, dual enrollment, industry-recognized credentials, and career and technical student organizations–provide advanced hands-on career exploration.
A number of career readiness programs and initiatives are taking place in Wisconsin, but there is still work to do to expand these offerings to all students across the state. Regional Career Pathways (RCPs) provide a ready-made solution to our access gap in Wisconsin. The RCP approach offers employer-led, career pathway programs in high-demand industries that school districts can readily adopt for their students. RCPs offer multiple advantages:
- For high school students, regional career pathways align education and training with the needs of the local job market, provide a range of postsecondary options, result in a high school diploma with at least one industry-recognized credential, and help students enter or advance within an occupation.
- For schools, RCPs use a regional collaborative group to tailor the pathway to local needs, and the group contacts employers to create partnerships for work-based learning opportunities. This allows schools to focus on student and curriculum activities with input and support from regional employers and higher education.
- For employers, rather than individual schools contacting them to create a single pathway, the regional pathway approach enables the employer to create one pathway map that all schools can tap into. It makes partnerships with a greater number of schools possible. This allows employers to shape the future talent pipeline, foster young talent, and highlight local career opportunities across an entire region.
Let's grow the number of Wisconsin school districts that currently offer one or more RCPs from 47 percent (196) to 100 percent (421) and create a statewide K-12 career readiness system that naturally increases the number of students:
- participating in and concentrating in career and technical education courses
- participating in career-based learning experiences
- participating in work-based learning
- participating in dual enrollment
- completing industry-recognized credentials
- participating in career and technical student organizations
So what can you do to support the goal and to expand student opportunities in and access to career pathway experiences in your district? See how you can tap into the Regional Career Pathways in your area, and make CTE more accessible to all your students.
For more information on Pathways Wisconsin, contact Beth Kaminski, State Director for Regional Career Pathways, at beth.kaminski@pathwayswi.org.