“Building a Nation of Makers.” This was the title of a U.S. News and World Report article found at www.usnews.com/news immediately following the annual National Week of Making Conference held this past summer. This conference recognized individuals from across our great nation who were considered to be makers, builders and doers of all ages and backgrounds. Further, this report shed light on the needs of our future workforce stating that, “We need to support the next generation of innovators and work to ensure that all have opportunities to learn how to design, invent and fabricate just about anything.” Well, as your blue collar comedian, Mr. Bill Engvall, might say, “Here’s your sign.”
Your sign is that while many of us in our communities, states, and nation as a whole believe that all students should have the opportunity to go to college and earn a degree, the reality is that the majority of freshmen students drop out of college before completing their freshman year. Your sign is also the fact that through Career and Technical Education students have the opportunity to learn middle-level skills that will help them develop a specific skill set that can in turn provide a background on which they can fall back if they decide that college life isn’t their cup of tea. Yes, students who attend CTE programs are still able to attend college, but as studies show many students that make it past the freshman exodus and graduate with a degree aren’t able to find gainful employment in their area of study. This is one more sign that we should all consider as we think of the benefits of Career and Technical Education. This is what the Simpson County Technical Center is here for. We are that school setting that teaches students about practical middle-level skills needed to support the next generation of innovators.
My call to all parents of the students attending school somewhere in Simpson County is to consider The Simpson County Technical Center as an option for helping to develop students into well rounded makers, builders, and doers. In case you didn’t know, low-level skilled jobs are almost obsolete and high-level skilled jobs are becoming more and more difficult to obtain due to competition with an experienced work force. Students who attend the programs we offer develop a basic knowledge with specific skills that will help them grow into productive citizens. By choosing Career and Technical Education your students will be better able to contribute to the economy by being actively engaged in filling the middle-level skilled occupations that make up approximately 65% of available jobs right now. Now don’t get me wrong, if your child is dead set on one of those high-level skilled occupations that is a wonderful goal. But common sense, which isn’t all that common, tells us that if plan A doesn’t work we need a plan B to fall back on.
Finally, here is one last sign. When looking into course options this next spring consider the opportunities that are available to students through Career and Technical Education. It very well may pay dividends for your child in the near future through scholarships and job opportunities. By choosing to be a part of career and technical education, whether at one of the two high schools in the district or The Simpson County Technical Center, students will not only be better able to graduate with a skill but be more marketable. This will of course ensure that they will be better able to go somewhere and do something after graduation. Career and Technical Education is most definitely a pathway to a brighter future. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Simpson County Technical Center.
