Initiative will
increase focus on career education and expand partnerships with business and
industry
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CONTACT:
Matt Cardoza, GaDOE Communications Office, (404) 651-7358, mcardoza@gadoe.org
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July 21,
2015 – The Georgia
Department of Education is launching Educating Georgia’s Future Workforce, an
initiative aimed at increasing the state’s focus on career education and
expanding partnerships with the business community, State School Superintendent
Richard Woods announced today.
“Georgia’s
students must leave our schools with skills that prepare them for higher
education or to immediately begin a career,” Superintendent Woods said. “It’s
essential that we offer the very best career education available, responsive to
the changing economic landscape and aligned to the needs of business and
industry. This initiative will bring all stakeholders to the table to strengthen
our career, technical, and agricultural education offerings and ensure students
are being prepared with skills that will serve them well in the workforce of
the future.”
Some
major components of Educating Georgia’s Future Workforce include:
- Participating in
listening sessions during business and industry visits by the State CTAE
Director and State Board Members to determine how we are doing in supplying
labor force needs
- Hosting
twelve “Partners Educating Georgia’s Future Workforce” regional meetings during
fall 2015 with a focus on economic development and Georgia’s Career, Technical,
and Agricultural Education (CTAE) offerings (These meetings will provide a
chance for business and community partners to learn more about CTAE in Georgia
and develop new partnerships with local school systems, thus positively
impacting economic development)
- Identifying
and making available valuable economic development resources to both educators
and business partners with a Pathways to Prosperity toolkit
- Developing
a Superintendent’s Business and Industry Advisory Council
- Offering
an International Skills Diploma Seal to graduates who demonstrate a strong
interest in international business and policy. Students earning the Seal have
engaged in courses and extra-curricular activities that foster global
competencies.
- Partnering with
Harvard University’s Pathways
to Prosperity project to analyze the efficacy of Georgia’s CTAE initiatives
and offerings
“Educating
Georgia’s future workforce can only be done by forming partnerships with a
variety of stakeholders,” State CTAE Director Dr. Barbara Wall said. “These
partnerships are formed through relationships based on trust and communication,
and we are working to develop these relationships every day.”
In
Georgia’s schools, students take Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education
(CTAE) courses and, in high school, choose a
Career Pathway that equips them with skills and industry certifications in
a field of their choice. The Educating Georgia’s Future Workforce initiative
will strengthen the business and industry partnerships that support CTAE, and
further develop the skills students need to enter the global workforce.
“Creating
Career Pathways was a major step to improving educational outcomes for Georgia
students,” said Chris Clark, Georgia Chamber president and CEO. “The launch of
Educating Georgia’s Future Workforce will advance this cause even further,
preparing our next generation of students with the skills employers need them
to know for the jobs of tomorrow.”