2011 Talent Shortage Survey shows CTE Course Offerings Are Right on Target

Virginia's Career and Technical Education programs are right on target to prepare students for the ten hardest to fill jobs in the Americas. According to Manpower's 2011 Global Talent Shortage Survey, these are:

1. Technicians
2. Sales Representatives
3. Skilled Trades Workers
4. Engineers
5. Secretaries, Administrative Assistants & Office Support Staff
6. Drivers
7. Production Operators
8. Laborers
9. Accounting & Finance Staff
10. Management Executives

Cost of College is Rising: Dual Enrollment Credits Can Help

A new report from the College Board gives details about the trend we've all seen -- the rising cost of college. In the last decade, tuition and fees have risen nationwide by 2.7% per year for public two-year colleges and 5.6% per year for public four year colleges. Two-year colleges have managed to keep their costs below the 3.2% annual increases of the 1990s, while four-year colleges have almost doubled the 3.3% annual increases of that decade.

TSA and FIRST Robotics Attract Young Women to Technology and Engineering

This spring I have been visiting schools with Career and Technical Education programs that successfully recruit and retain nontraditional students and looking for ideas and inspirations that other schools can use. There are far more of these classes than I can possibly investigate. As a result, I won’t be able to interview teachers in all of these schools, only a few who have time in their schedules to talk to me. I hope their experiences will be interesting and even motivating to others. I would love to continue this work, visit more schools, and talk to more teachers. If you are interested in sharing what you have done, please let me know.

HICKORY HIGH SCHOOL, CHESAPEAKE

At Hickory High School, I had the opportunity to talk to two female students, Sabrina Pardus and Lacey Reynolds, and their technology teacher, Gina Nakahara. In the course of the conversation, I learned about Hickory's Technology Student Association (TSA) and FIRST Robotics programs and how they have inspired young women not only to pursue technology classes but to plan careers they would never have imagined without experiencing these programs.