CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) - With all the industry coming to South Carolina, educators are doing what they can to make sure a prepared work force will be available.
“Now is the time for career and technical education,” said Tana Lee, Berkeley County director of Career and Technical Education and president-elect of the state association. “Building a pipeline of prepared workers is key in our state. Our job is to have seamless pathways for our children and to work with industry to ensure that the pathways that we provide will build the future workforce.”
Many high schools around the state currently offer Career and Technical Education programs, with specialties tailored to local career opportunities.
“It’s a much more comprehensive approach and aligned to workforce needs and seeking to address all students,” said state Department of Education spokesman Ryan Brown. “I think that’s the biggest change we’ve seen from what people would consider a traditional vocational school.”
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Smith Hughes National Vocational Education Act, signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson on Feb. 23, 1917. It created the Federal Board for Vocational Education to promote training in agriculture, trades and industries, commerce and home economics in the secondary schools.
For years, vocational education had a reputation as something reserved for those students who weren’t college material.
That’s not the case anymore as students - and their parents - realize that so-called CATE classes teach practical, hands-on skills.
“It’s definitely not what people thought of it in years past,” said Elena Furnari said, Dorchester District 2 director of high schools.
“When I was in school, you had shop; you had woodworking class; you had industrial technology. That was it,” she said. “I’ve said in recent years, if a student cannot find something that they like in our schools today, they’re not looking, because we have such varied opportunities.”
Students can take classes in culinary skills, biomedicine, industrial skills, sports medicine, cybersecurity and horticulture, for instance.
“The options are wide open for our children, but we can’t be close-minded,” Lee said. “We have to, as parents, become educated and understand that schools are able to provide personalized learning for our children. And whichever pathway they choose, there are options.”
Brown said school leaders have listened to industry leaders in their counties to ensure their trade programs match the need for skilled workers.
“If they don’t need welders in the area, then why are we spending money buying welding machines?” Brown said.
In the Lowcountry, school districts work with the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce’s Talent Demand Study, which identifies where workers will be needed.
“Working with industry, we are able to identify programs that would benefit the local areas, and we’re able to encourage the students to take courses that will hopefully meet that demand,” Lee said.
“For example, we know that we need to increase the number of students that are coming out with an interest in general assembly and manufacturing. We know that in our area there are lots of jobs out there for those students.”
In addition, a handful of public high schools around the state now offer niche career training. At PALM Charter High School in Myrtle Beach, students learn the skills needed to work in motorsports, from welding to engine repair to auto body painting.
At the Orangeburg Consolidated School District 5 High School for Health Professions, students learn the foundations of anatomy and biology, getting a head start on nursing or medical school while earning college credits at the nearby Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College.
State Education Superintendent Molly Spearman praised the High School for Health Professions during a visit in September, saying that specialized schools provide something unique.
“This is all about engaging students and finding something they’re interested in,” Spearman said. “We are going to see more of this.”
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Information from: The Post and Courier, http://www.postandcourier.com
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