Education in Florida
In Florida, the Florida Advanced Technological Education Center (FLATE) designed a national model Engineering Technology AS degree program. The program, offered at 11 community colleges in the state, has as one of its components an engineering technology technical core (15 credits), which aligns with the Manufacturing Skills Standards Council Certified Production Technician (MSSC- CPT) national certification. Students already possessing this certification are able to earn the degree with 15 fewer credits, while un-credentialed students are able to earn the certification as part of their education. 19 As another example, a CTE course within the existing culinary management AAS degree program was developed to address, specifically, the requirements needed to obtain the Professional Food Service Manager Certificate (ServSafe®) as specified by the National Restaurant Association Foundation.
The course provides three credit hours towards the degree in culinary management or toward a certificate in culinary arts in community colleges across Florida. 20 In an effort to help colleges align their curriculum with external certifications, the Florida Department of Education's Division of Career and Adult Education maintains a listing of licensing assessments and industry certifications. 21 The North Carolina Community Colleges recently completed the Code Green Super Curriculum Improvement Project, an effort to redesign program standards and curriculum for five sector areas including building, energy, engineering, environment and transportation technologies. As part of the effort, attention was given to ensure that the curricula aligned with industry certifications. For example, graduates of the program in Mechatronics Engineering Technology are prepared to sit for the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute examination, and those completing the Industrial Engineering Technology program are prepared for certification exams offered by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers and the American Society for Quality.
22 Recent legislation in Iowa requires the Department of Workforce Development to issue a quarterly report identifying industries in the state with a shortage of skilled workers, and directs worker training programs in the community colleges to use the national career readiness certificate and the skills certification system endorsed by the National Association of Manufacturers. 23 In the Wisconsin Technical College System, one of the three levels of assessment performed on all programs concerns how well students perform in gaining national, state, or industry credentials, placing an emphasis in these programs on alignment with external certifications.
24 Access to Useful Labor Market Information A vital aspect of the community college mission is its service to its local region, including producing educated workers for the regional economy. In order to do that, colleges must have timely labor market information that allows them to identify matches and mismatches between the labor markets they serve and the graduates they produce. In California, individual community colleges must acquire and interpret labor market data on their own, as there is no comprehensive statewide approach to helping the 112 colleges match programs to labor market demand. What is required is not only timely labor market data but also analyses of any gaps between projected labor market demand and current pipelines to produce graduates for those jobs.
The Arkansas Department of Workforce Service provides labor market information, which is used by state policymakers and colleges to ensure that programs are in growing occupations. The Arkansas Department of Higher Education requires proof before a pathway is established that it matches with high-demand, high-wage industries. 25 After a program starts, the state requires follow-up information to ensure the program maintains its relevancy in the local economy. The state employs an outside consultant, Economic Modeling Specialists, Inc., to produce local employment reports for each college to help evaluate their CTE programs. 26
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