News Brief
Worker Skills Shortage Starts in High School
Minnesota Public Radio (MN) (04/01/13) Robertson, TomCareer-counseling and shop classes have decreased in Minnesota high schools, contributing to what higher education officials and employers call a skills gap. Many machining, welding, and robotics classes, for instance, were reduced or cut when districts began moving resources to math and reading in response to the No Child Left Behind Act, and the number of industrial tech teachers has fallen. To address the decline in high school industrial tech offerings, State Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius and Minnesota State Colleges and Universities are collaborating on an initiative that would help transition students from high school to post-secondary education, aligning students' plans with workforce needs through personalized career plans and the ability to explore careers and earn college credits while in high school. "What it means is that high schools would work directly with college presidents and design programming that matches the workforce in that community. That's how specialized it is. They're really meant to meet the needs of the business community that is right there in that area," says Cassellius. She says the program would promote European-style apprenticeships with local employers and enable the costs of technical equipment to be shared by high schools and colleges.
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