News
Center Works to Strengthen Career Pathways in Transportation
Posted April 2015
From Left: Connie Beene, Kansas Board of Regents; Nancy Brooks, Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education, U.S. Department of Education; Xinge Wang, Transportation Learning Center; Cindy LeCoq, Colorado Community College System; Robin Utz, Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education, U.S. Department of Education; Debra Hsu, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities
On April 8, 2015, Center Deputy Director Xinge Wang was invited to present on the “Advancing CTE within Career Pathways Systems” panel at the spring meeting of the National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium (NASDCTEC). Robin Utz of Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE), U.S. Department of Education moderated the session and discussed OCTAE’s recent three-year initiative to assist states in the integration of CTE programs of study with state and local career pathway systems. Leaders from Colorado, Kansas, and Minnesota shared resources developed through career pathways programs for sectors such as IT, healthcare and advanced manufacturing within their states, with a particular emphasis on employer engagement strategies. Ms. Wang shared the recent analysis of transportation job demand and skills needs that was made possible by a joint effort by the U.S. Department of Education, Transportation, and Labor to advance transportation career pathways. The presentation highlighted the abundance of skilled and semi-skilled jobs with good pay and benefits within transportation’s six subsectors and the looming skills crisis in frontline operations and maintenance areas. Well-integrated CTE programs based in secondary and postsecondary schools and work-based learning such as apprenticeships can help alleviate the skills shortage and build the next generation transportation workforce. A similar analysis was presented by Ms. Wang at the March 30th National Association of Workforce Boards (NAWB) Forum.
For more information, download the presentation or contact Center Deputy Director Xinge Wang.
