The Keystone State had 68,576 students enrolled in 2021-22 across 80 career and technical centers (CTCs) plus high school-based programs for career and technical education, the latest data available from the Department of Education. The total grew, albeit sporadically, by nearly 4,000 students since 2012-13.
Interest in the trade and industry clusters is swelling. John Pulver, executive director, Pennsylvania Association of Career & Technical Administrators, said the highest enrollment generally is in the areas of automotive, construction and culinary arts.
"What we call our hard trades are blowing up," Pulver said.
Admiral Peary Area Vocational-Technical School in Cambria County saw its student complement grow from about 470 students five years ago to an estimated 750 anticipated in the upcoming school year, according to Assistant Director Joseph Luther. He said the growth moved administrators and the school's joint operating committee to expand offerings, open new learning spaces and hire more personnel.
"All our programs right now have a wait list," said Tony Miller, administrative director, Mercer County Career Center. "We haven't had that situation ever since I've been here."
PUBLIC SCHOOL BUDGETS FACTOR INTO CTC'S FUNDING
Growth is welcome but is also a complication.
The new state budget includes more than $134 million combined in tech-ed subsidies and equipment grants. The total's grown by $29.5 million compared to two years ago, however, CTC's main revenue source is local tax funding from affiliate public schools.
New programs cost money in both equipment and instruction, and there's the potential need for building renovations or expansion.
Pulver said many CTCs date to the 1960s. Increased funding would facilitate building and program expansion, not only opening more opportunities for students but also for adult continuing education in the evenings. Adult education courses have about 10,000 enrollees statewide, according to the Department of Education.
By remaining primarily funded by local tax dollars, Pulver said CTCs are at risk of budget cuts when affiliate schools are fiscally pinched.
"We don't want career and technical education to be vulnerable," Pulver said. "Let's not make it a burden on the school districts."
The Shapiro administration has seized on workforce development and career and technical education. In promoting Pennsylvania's new budget, the administration touts $23.5 million in spending to expand tech-ed, $6 million for pre-apprenticeships and apprenticeships, plus another $3.5 million for a Schools-to-Work program to partner schools with employers and workforce development programs for opening career pathways.
Carrie Amann, executive director, Pennsylvania Workforce Development Association, emphasized that CTCs are attuned to the labor needs of their respective local economies. Connecting students with business and industry will help fill roles in high-demand occupations. She cited HVAC, commercial trucking and traditional trades as well as health careers.
Apprenticeships help facilitate this but because of the current system structure, it can be difficult. The biggest complaint from all involved, she said, is the amount of paperwork.
"Administrative burdens are a reality," Amann said.
Judd Pittman is the director of the Pennsylvania Department of Education's Bureau of Career and Technical Education.
The new state budget, he said, will help tech-ed programs afford to invest in equipment to expand program enrollment. There are 14 schools introducing new programs this school year, he said. A school planning to purchase 20 welding booths, Pittman said, could potentially up the order to 30, for example.
Additional funding focused on STEM education will help with exposure and understanding of artificial intelligence and robotics, he said.
Pittman said Pennsylvania has 224 schools including CTCs that have approved work-based learning programs and nearly 23,000 students participating. He advocates for early exposure and understanding of how core instruction, such as in math, connects to business and industry and potential educational pathways in career and technical education.
"We've invested a lot of dollars and sweat equity in the past eight years in the idea of STEM and maker education. As humans, we're inclined to create, to build. If we can make a direct tie in elementary school to careers in manufacturing, carpentry or automotive, the spaces where we make, we can really get kids excited," Pittman said.
A HANDS-ON ENVIRONMENT
Exposure includes shining light on opportunities for students across the learning spectrum. Michael McDermott is the administrative director of the Indiana County Technology Center. He's also board president of the Pennsylvania Association of Career & Technical Education Special Populations.
Tech-ed is competency-based, McDermott said. Students must learn to perform tasks, including students with special needs. About 28 percent of his CTC's enrollment are considered special education including gifted learners.
Vocabulary and reading are common barriers for special populations, he said, so lessons reinforcing these skills are incorporated in their education. It's a hands-on environment and all students including those with special needs must learn to complete required tasks they'd ultimately encounter in their potential careers.
"For some of our special needs students, that's challenging," McDermott said. "The goal isn't just to get a job, it's to direct them along a career path they can be successful in for the rest of their lives."
It's tech-ed teachers who direct students. There's a push in Harrisburg to entice more industry and trades professionals to transition into a second career: teaching. Like the affiliate schools, CTC administrators say it's increasingly difficult to recruit and retain teachers, especially in areas where teaching salaries wouldn't approach what could be earned on the job.
State Rep. Paul Takac, D-Centre County, is co-sponsoring a bill still in development with the goal of making it easier for skilled workers to become tech-ed educators. There's a delicate balance, he said, in easing the process but maintaining a high standard. Under consideration is a model where instructor candidates could learn about classroom instruction by working with a certified teacher. Ultimately, they'd blend that experience with their own background in business and industry when they're at the head of a class.
"If we could harness their experience, passion and expertise to help train the next generation of workers, that could benefit their business, their communities and the commonwealth," Takac said.
©2023 The Daily Item (Sunbury, Pa.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
