The result of a 2013 partnership with Realityworks, Inc., this lab is providing high school students from rural Wisconsin school districts with opportunities to explore manufacturing technology and manufacturing careers in a way they would not otherwise encounter. The lab, which is housed in a semi truck-trailer, includes a computer numerical control (CNC) milling machine for metalworking, two continuous wire machines, two gas tungsten arc welding machines, 13 computer workstations that connect to a computerassisted design program and a precision measurement program, and the guideWELD® LIVE real welding guidance system. Using funding from a three-year National Science Foundation grant, the lab visits one school every quarter of the academic year, where the mobile lab technician team teaches with the host school’s CTE instructor. Such technology opens students’ eyes to career possibilities and trains them efficiently — Fig. 2. The Role of Industry Similarly, industry experts across the country can assist in the development of local CTE programs to ensure that such programs reflect their specific needs. They can help ensure that the training program participants receive leads to industry-recognized credentials, postsecondary certificates or two- and four-year degrees — whatever participants need to enter the local job market, continue their education, or both. This, after all, is a hallmark of a successful CTE program: the preparation of students to succeed in college or career by providing core academic skills, employability skills, and technical, job-specific skills. The Midwest Training Center for Climate and Energy Control Technologies (MTC) is another example of a successful CTE program that engages students while preparing them for future careers. The center is the result of a partnership between Washburn Tech, a technical training institute in Topeka, Kan.; the National Coalition of Certification Centers (NC3); and Trane, a global provider of indoor comfort systems and a brand of Ingersoll Rand. The center was established in 2013 to help meet the needs of a growing regional heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) industry. For the last two years, the center has been providing state-of-the-art training labs and curriculum so its graduates can learn the skills they need to succeed in a job market that is estimated to grow 21% nationwide by 2020 (Ref. 3). While acquiring these skills, MCT students are not only more engaged in the learning process, but also understand the purpose of their learning experience — two hallmarks of successful CTE programs. By connecting with industry experts, MTC program administrators have ensured that their students graduate with appropriate energy industry certifications through NC3, and are ready to seek some level of employment. Of course, not all technical schools and career centers have such industryfunded and industry-supported CTE programs. However, industry experts can still proactively address the skills gap in their area. They can work with local schools on career-based curriculum development, and offer internships and externships to local students; they can open their places of business to schools for tours; and they can engage in speaking opportunities. Of course, they can also help fund programs. Overcome the CTE Career Stigma These actions will not only help ensure that area students have the chance to learn industry-needed skills, but will also address the stigma that CTE still invokes for some. Associated by many with the “Work Smart, Not Hard” campaign of years ago that pushed students toward four-year college degrees and not chosen career paths, this stigma still leads many to link CTE pathways with flawed, lowwage career options (Ref. 4). This image problem can be seen across trade industries; for instance, the Manufacturing Institute’s recently released “Close the Skills Gap Call to Action” reports that although 7 out of 10 parents want manufacturing in their community, only 3 out of 10 parents encourage their children to pursue such careers (Ref. 5). By partnering with educators, industry experts can help today’s students overcome the stigma of CTE career pathways and understand that such learning opportunities will leave them in a position to succeed whether they choose to enter the workforce or continue their education. Such engagements can shed light on different CTE career paths that can be quite lucrative and positive. SEPTEMBER 2015 / WELDING JOURNAL 53 Fig. 2 — CTE programs often engage students with advanced technologies, like the guideWELD® LIVE real welding guidance system. They enable students to learn both the academic skills and technical skills, such as welding, that they need to successfully complete high school and prepare for postsecondary education and training, and thrive in the future workforce.
Welding Journal | September 2015
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