Last year, Ohio lawmakers overhauled the state’s K–12 education governance system by transferring the majority of powers and duties assigned to the state board of education to a revamped executive branch office known as the Department of Education and Workforce (DEW). In November, Governor DeWine appointed Steve Dackin to serve as its first director.
Although the department has plenty of important issues on its plate, one of its most significant priorities—as evidenced by its new name—is expanding and improving career-technical education (CTE). In a recent interview with The 74, Director Dackin emphasized how critical it is for students and families to be aware of their CTE options. “Most kids were led to believe that their primary opportunities would be either in college or the military,” he explained. “So right now they’re at a deficit. If you ask a kid, what do you want to do when you get out of high school, they’re void of much information about what’s available.”
Raising the awareness of career pathways to the same level as post-secondary enrollment and military enlistment is a priority for the department going forward. “I think our challenge is to make sure that every kid, as they’re going through our K–12 system, their parents have access to labor market data that talks about what the careers are, what the pay is, what it takes to get from point A to point B,” Dackin added. “So many people don't know how to navigate the system, because it’s very complex.”
Making this system more easily accessible is an ongoing effort. But DEW recently took another important step forward by launching a communications campaign called “Your Future. Your Way.” The campaign has two primary goals: (1) to communicate that CTE programs offer high-quality educational experiences that will help students acquire real-world skills and find a career they’re passionate about, and (2) to provide students and families with information about the CTE opportunities that are available.
The centerpiece of the campaign is a brochure. Given that brochures aren’t known for offering in-depth information, and that they likely aren’t the communication method of choice for students in middle or high school, that might not seem like something worthy of praise. But there are two important things to remember.
First, every district in Ohio is required to adopt a policy on career advising. These policies must specify how districts will provide career advising to all students in grades 6–12, train staff to advise students on career pathways, and “identify and publicize” courses that award students CTE credit. The department offers districts a career advising toolkit to help them accomplish these goals. But a concise, easy-to-distribute brochure that lays out students’ career pathway options should make districts’ jobs a lot easier—and thus make it more likely that the vast majority of Ohio students will end up with one of these brochures in hand.
Second, the brochure itself—which provides an overview of career pathways and jobs associated with each of the state’s fifteen career fields—is a lot more informative than you might expect. For example, the section dedicated to the engineering and science technologies field identifies two pathways available to students—engineering and design, as well as robotics—and provides a list of associated careers. The brochure also identifies at least three specific occupations within each career field and lists the median salary, number of anticipated annual job openings, and education and training required. Below is an example of some of the information provided for the engineering field.
This information is a helpful starting point that gives students and families an idea of the jobs and opportunities available in a variety of career fields. But DEW didn’t stop there. For those who are interested in conducting a more in-depth exploration, the brochure provides a QR code that leads to the Ohio Means Jobs website. Here, students can select a career cluster (perhaps information technology) and then choose a career pathway that interests them (such as a computer network support specialist, a web developer, or an information security analyst). From there, they can explore the type of activities they might perform on a daily basis; an overview of the skills, knowledge, and abilities needed; necessary education, work experience, and training; and the typical salary and hourly wages for the bottom and top 10 percent of jobs, as well as the median. They can even explore current job listings to see what companies they could end up working for and where.
Making this information easily accessible should go a long way toward helping students figure out what they want to do after high school. But the campaign could also help reframe how parents and the general public view CTE and its connection to coursework. For example, when adults think of CTE, they often think of jobs in manufacturing (like a machinist) or transportation (like an automotive service technician). Those are, indeed, career fields and pathways available to students. But Ohio also offers courses and programs that are traditionally linked with higher education, fields like engineering, finance, and information technology.
Some parents—especially those with an outdated view of CTE—might also assume that it isn’t associated with well-paid, in-demand jobs. But as indicated in the brochure, that’s not true. An HVAC installer, for example, has a median salary of almost $51,000 with over 1,400 anticipated annual job openings. Welders, meanwhile, have a median salary exceeding $46,000 with more than 2,000 expected yearly openings. The education and training requirements for both these occupations are CTE and certification, not college, which means little to no student loan debt. These days, that’s an attractive option. And it’s a big step forward to have that information clearly presented to students and their families.
The bottom line is that CTE has something for everyone. By launching this campaign, DEW has taken an important step toward making sure Ohioans know that. There’s still plenty of work to be done, including making sure that these brochures actually get into the hands of kids and families. But for now, kudos to the revamped department for hitting the ground running.
