Connecting CTE to the Future

1
Connecting CTE to the Future

• by
• Robert G. Sheets
• Business and Industry Services
• Northern Illinois University
• June 2005

2
The Challenges for CTE

• Responding to the skill requirements of the new
  economy
• Communicating results to key stakeholders

3
Responding to the New Economy

• Sources of Competitive Advantage
• Business agility
• Product and process innovation
• Transition to New Workplaces
• New Skill Requirements for Career
  Success---Balancing Depth and Breadth

4
Balancing Depth and Breadth

• Depth Expert Occupational Performance
• Beyond routine job performance
• Strengthening academic/technical knowledge and
  skills
• Breadth Career Entrepreneurs
• Business entrepreneurship
• Business process innovation
• Career and learning management

5
Solution Career Clusters

• Depth Career Specialties
• Connecting to degrees/certificates and industry
  certifications with market value
• Breadth Foundations and Pathways
• Foundationscareer management, business systems,
  new workplace basics, academic and technical
  knowledge and skills
• Pathways---managing business processes and more
  focused and integrated skill applications

6
Next Steps for Career Clusters

• Improve Curriculum Frameworks
• Improve clarity and consistency
• Establish coherent programs of study
• Establish assessment systems
• Identify and align credentials with market value
• Make Strategic Connections
• State/local economic and workforce development
  cluster/sector initiatives
• State/local career pathway(adult education)
  initiatives
• K-12 school improvement and P-20 initiatives
• Communicate Results
• Define key stakeholderswho should get what
• Develop reporting and communication strategies

7
Communicating Results to Key Stakeholders

• New Accountability Environment
• Invest limited resources in what is working
• Continuous improvement in results
• Consistent measurement and data quality
• Key Stakeholder Requirements
• Students/parentsguidance and investment
  information (consumer information)
• Employersmanaging skilled worker pipelines
• Federal/state/local fundersreporting program and
  system results

8
Solution Performance Management Systems

• Performance Measurement
• Perkins performance accountability system
• Perkins alignment with education and workforce
  development
• Managing Continuous Improvement
• Multi-year reporting
• Using data to manage improvement
• Reporting and Information Systems
• Federal reporting system
• State reporting systems
• Career information systems

9
Next Steps in Performance Management

• Define who we are accountable forimproving
  standardization of state concentrator definitions
• Improve standardization of state Perkins measures
  and approaches with strong data quality standards
• Develop new strategies for measuring career and
  technical skill attainment and identifying and
  aligning credentials with market value
• Improve consistency with education (e.g., NCLB)
  and workforce (e.g., WIA) performance measures
• Expand capacity to use data for managing
  continuous improvement
• Improve reporting systems to key stakeholders

10
Coordinating Next Steps

• Defining concentrators and programs of study for
  participation and completion
• Assessing career and technical skill attainment
• Defining degrees/certificates, industry
  certifications, and other types of credentials
  with market value
• Reporting and communicating information to key
  stakeholders