In the dimension of industry and education, career and technical jobs are often high tech, require critical thinking, utilize problem-solving skills and are lucrative, as well as satisfying.
In the dimension of public perception misconception, career and technical careers are often perceived as dirty, mundane, low-paying, mindless and not desirable.
As the college and nation celebrate Career and Technical Education Month in February, I talked with my Workforce Development Center teammates and several of these conflicting phenomena emerged.
In the public perception misconception dimension, the most common view is that you can't make a good living working in a career and technical occupation. The data counters this notion, with many of our students graduating with starting salaries of nearly $50,000. Plus, CTE students usually graduate with little to no student loan debt, ensuring their wages go much further than someone with a mountain of debt.
Another common myth is that working conditions in career and technical jobs are dirty or too physically demanding. The public perception misconception dimension often does not realize that career and technical jobs involve a wide variety of professions such as accounting, business marketing, nursing and cybersecurity. They also do not realize that today's factories are usually bright, clean and supported by numerous automations.
As robotics and AI integration continue to grow, the demand for highly skilled technicians to fix machinery or troubleshoot code grows right with it. Companies depend on employees who have critical thinking skills to make sure production lines are operating efficiently and meeting standards. Manufacturers expect their employees to be able to pivot and make critical decisions on the fly to maintain production levels.
The ironic part of our story is that the public perception misconception dimension depends on, and highly values, the industry and education dimension in daily life. CTE graduates are the very people we depend on when our furnace goes out, when we have a medical procedure, when we need a haircut or when the internet is down. The CTE Universe creates the goods we consume and provides the services we need for a successful society.
Why then do we see parents and influencers steer young people away from CTE programs? Perhaps they do not realize the potential return on investment a CTE graduate can gain? In just one example, students who earned a CTE credential in Ohio saw a 220 percent ROI on average five years after completion, according to a recent CTE industry study.
Lake Land College exists within the industry and education dimension and is proud to be working with so many industry partners to grow highly skilled employees from within the community. We have 12 registered apprenticeships this spring and this past year the Center for Business and Industry served 1,840 students and 23 companies with customized training programs.
Through the Local Workforce Investment Area 23 and the Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act, more than $1.5 million was invested in grant funds to directly support our communities through tuition and support services to students and on-the-job training for eligible individuals. LWIA 23 also funded four Incumbent Worker Training projects, which allowed 78 local employees to gain additional skills resulting in a promotion and/or raise. The four IWT project contracts were with local employers: Sarah Bush Lincoln Health System, AgriFab, EvapCo and EJ Water.
Over the past several years the college invested nearly $2.4 million in innovative technical equipment that provides students with the opportunity to safely gain experience and fine-tune skills before working with real equipment. Lake Land students can now explore a virtual cadaver, drive on the CDL simulator, provide patient care in a life-sized ambulance simulator and practice techniques with virtual welding equipment, to name a few.
As we seek to raise awareness of the value and benefit of the CTE universe, do we need a new superhero who can move between dimensions? Or better yet one who can unify the two dimensions and create united support for the potential and future of career and technical education. Knowledge empowers students to choose a CTE pathway that leads to a satisfying career and supports themselves and their families into the future. I look forward to discussing your ideas on how to bring together the two dimensions to dispel the myths and raise awareness of the many benefits of Career and Technical Education.
Josh Bullock is president of Lake Land College.
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