The most intelligent answer for linking a
globally competitive workforce and higher education may be better found in
technological institutions rather than within the nation’s most august four-year
institutions.
Career and technical education has the
advantage of relevance. For many
learners of all ages, “academics suddenly make sense”. Geometry makes more sense in construction
technology than just drawing circles and squares on paper. And the best technological programs include
internships, co-op programs or real problems to solve.
Programs in technological institutions are
often market driven. If the employment market changes, so does the program. Professional licensing or state certifications
are important to career opportunity as four year degrees because, in an era of
outsourcing, high-skill jobs are not going away. For example, you are not going to call someone
in India to fix your car or do your home plumbing. If your house is on fire, help is not coming
from Mexico.
So how did “voc-ed” get such a bad rap? In
the past, voc-ed was used as an avoidance mechanism for high schoolers who did
not want to do academic class work.
Unfortunately, that is still the mind set within some schools and
political settings. The innovation is to
combine a no-compromise academic program with technological education that
matches learners of all ages with both career opportunity and academic
counseling.
The fastest groups of learners in technical
schools are those with bachelor and master degrees. So why do we not reward institutions for
delivering trained and retrained individuals?
Somehow we believe that four year colleges are all that count and that
no other education matters. The reality is that good jobs DO require college-level
expertise, but that fields such as health, automotive, public safety, business,
industrial technology, etc., can support lifelong careers with post-secondary
education from community colleges and “tech” school programs.
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