Student interest in CTE courses drives expansion | News, sports, work

Jill Schramm/MDN Jersy Burgess places a blanket over a mannequin during a certified nursing assistant class at Minot High School on Sept. 26. CNA training is one of the career and technical education programs offered by Minot Public Schools.

According to North Dakota CTE Director Wayde Sick, Bismarck, there is a lot of interest in career and technical education, but the challenge is providing these opportunities to rural areas.

Sick said about $120 million has been made available through federal COVID-19 relief and state funds to expand or build career and technology centers for 13 projects, including high school programs in Minot.

“With the additional dollars we’ve received for additional career and technology centers across the state, I think the trend or opportunity we have is providing more opportunities for students, regardless of where in the state of North Dakota they live. I think our students are very fortunate to have great career and technical education programs, no matter where they are. However, what we want to accomplish is to ensure that every program available to every student is accessible, so that they understand what the state has to offer in terms of career opportunities, so that they can make an informed decision before they graduate from high school on what their career path may look like.” he said.

There are certain parts of the state that do a phenomenal job of providing opportunities, although more could be offered for careers in the energy industry, he said. Opportunity gaps are more geographic due to North Dakota’s rural nature, he said.

“A small school may not be able to scale the program because they simply don’t have the students and can’t find an instructor.” he said. “If we can scale it through partnerships across multiple school districts, which the CTE center actually does, then we can really start to provide a lot of very diverse opportunities.”

Sick said part of the CTE scholarship program was a requirement for a postsecondary partner.

“We are seeing some of these CTE centers welcome higher education into their doors to also provide post-secondary education and even workforce training.” he said. An example is the Bakken Area Skills Center. Watford City does not have a post-secondary facility, but through partnerships with local colleges, it does offer post-secondary education in its programs, he said.

The goal is to expand such opportunities and use CTE facilities to serve high school students and adults, he said.

“Instead of duplicating what may be available, can you collaborate and collaborate to make this happen? I think the funding is probably there. We have dollars that come from our agency and are primarily intended to support career and technical education programs at the high school level. However, our university system also has a formula that reimburses or pays universities for credits awarded. So I think the dollars are there. Just get together in the room and talk about the opportunities that partnership can offer.” The sick man said. “These conversations are ongoing.”

Lisa Johnson, vice chancellor for student and academic affairs at the North Dakota University System, expressed her appreciation for the partnerships taking place with local colleges and universities. She added that thanks to the simulation, some universities were able to offer CTE courses remotely or virtually.

Johnson said one of the biggest challenges is the cost of launching a CTE program. Another challenge in offering high school CTE courses in exchange for college credits is maintaining the rigor of a college-level course and demonstrating proficiency, she said.

Sick said enrollment in high school CTE courses is relatively high. Approximately 75% to 79% of students have enrolled in a CTE course in the last six years.

“About 30% of our students take at least two courses in the same track. I think this is an area where we could definitely grow.” he said.

If a student takes at least two full-time courses in the same track, about 90% will pursue that field in the workforce or higher education, he said.

Students see that there is value in short-term training and that there is an opportunity to supplement that education in the future if they choose, Sick said.

“We are certainly seeing great things and innovations being introduced in our local colleges and universities. Students see this and are definitely moving in this direction.” he said. “So it’s exciting. We’re doing some really great things in North Dakota and I hope it continues.”