Over the last ten years, my school district, the Anaheim Union High School District, has grown their career mentoring program, called AIME, in which we partner with local businesses, government agencies, and non-profits to provide career mentoring and internships to our students. We have had over 100 businesses participate in these efforts, and they enjoy working with our students and are regularly impressed with the caliber of the young people who will make up the workforce of tomorrow. Throughout our county there are several organizations working towards a similar mission: The CEO Leadership Alliance of Orange County, Vital Link, Orange County United Way, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and others. The Disneyland Resort has also made generous donations to AIME and other programs in the community to support workforce development.
While these efforts have made great progress, the number of students who participate in these work-based learning efforts is slim in comparison to the overall student population. In addition, the business community and the educational system often remain siloed, and work-based learning programs seem to be the exception rather than the rule. Educational entities, including the K12 system, community college, and universities, have their own standards, operating procedures, unions, and government requirements, making it challenging to collaborate. Legal requirements, risk management, and the bureaucracy of creating board-approved agreements can slow down the process of partnering, which leads to resistance in moving these relationships forward. All of this means slower progress towards meeting the needs of our students as well as the workforce needs of our local regions.
There are several promising practices that may lead us towards a stronger partnership with the business world and greater student participation in work-based learning. For example, our school district has implemented the Career Preparedness Systems Framework (CPSF) to align our educational goals with workforce readiness. This framework focuses our efforts around three main drivers: Youth Voice and Purpose, Technical Skills, and 21st Century Skills. By addressing 21st Century Skills in every classroom (communication, collaboration, critical thinking, creativity, and character) we are providing skills that we know will be important regardless of a student’s career choice. Our focus on the second driver, technical skills, not only ensures that students will have relevant skills they can cite on their resumes once they finish their education, it also helps teachers identify the skills in their curriculum that will lead to job-readiness and brings relevance to classroom learning. Finally, by allowing Youth Voice and Purpose to guide each student’s educational journey, we are avoiding tracking students towards particular pathways based on our perceptions of those students, and we are empowering students to become part of their communities to influence positive change. Our focus on career readiness does not just take place in Career Technical Education pathways, rather it is implemented across the curriculum.
We are in the early stages of implementing the CPSF, but believe it will be a positive step towards preparing our future workforce for success. Our business partners agree that drivers such as the 5 Cs are well worth focusing on, as they will help students succeed in any industry. In addition, UC Irvine has reported that our students who attend their university have higher average GPAs when compared with students from other districts, and are more likely to continue their education beyond the first year of college. We believe that our focus on transferrable career skills has helped students prepare for success in both their college and career pursuits.
Another promising example of successful partnerships between education and industry is that of apprenticeships. Whereas traditional apprenticeships were associated with building, manufacturing, and other trades, apprenticeships are now being implemented in high-tech fields, such as computer science and biotechnology. In an apprenticeship, the employer and educators agree on the skills that apprentices will learn, and the apprentice works for a wage while receiving instruction aligned with the apprentice’s experience in the workplace. If the student meets the standards of the apprenticeship, they are hired to work for the company. Our district, as well as the Orange County Department of Education, is working on implementing apprenticeships at the high school level.
It is time for education and industry to become true partners in preparing our future workforce. While CTE educators have long been working towards these partnerships, it is time to orient our entire educational system towards career and life readiness. I applaud the efforts of our local nonprofits and corporate partners as we work toward a common vision of workforce readiness. Considering that our students will spend most of their lives working in their careers, let’s focus on career preparedness as the end goal and let that drive our school and district improvement efforts to guide students towards purposeful, fulfilling lives.
Scott Reindl 