ACTE's national leadership forum addresses the re-skilling of America.

ACTE's national leadership forum addresses the re-skilling of America. THE ASSOCIATION FOR CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION HELD A NATIONALLEADERSHIP FORUM in June to discuss the invaluable role that career andtechnical education (CTE) plays in preparing the nation'sworkforce. Leaders from business and industry, high-level staff from theU.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Labor, and keylegislators were present to discuss the challenges facing workers today. The forum was organized to identify strategies for boosting thesuccess of CTE students in both secondary and postsecondary education,and to find ways to take these strategies to scale through bothprogrammatic and policy initiatives. CTE and Workforce Development The economic downturn has resulted in many changes to the labormarket landscape in the United States. Education and workforce trainingsystems face many challenges as they work to provide opportunities foran ever increasing number of unemployed and underemployed. Workers inindustries worst hit by the economic downturn, such as the automotiveindustry, will for the first time in generations face a future that isextremely uncertain. Panelists at the forum noted that as the nationmoves toward economic recovery, one thing that is certain is that CTEmust be part of the answer. CTE's role in workforce development iscrucial in part because of the involvement of business and industry inCTE programming, said former Maine Governor John McKernan. Input fromemployers is necessary in education programming, he noted, to ensurethat there isn't a disjunction between the skills workers arelearning in education and training and that which employers are seekingin their hires. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Senator Patty Murray, chair of the Senate Subcommittee onEmployment and Workplace Safety, concurred that the engagement ofbusiness and industry is crucial in workforce development efforts. Shenoted that in her constituency one employer said that he only hiresengineers who are also good communicators. He told her that a candidatewho has experience as a debater in high school, for instance, is astronger candidate than one with only the requisite engineering skills. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Senator Murray added that often she hears from students that whatthey learn in school isn't applicable in the real world."Often," she said. "They're right." Gay Gilbert, an administrator from the Office of WorkforceDevelopment, U.S. Department of Labor, said that input from business andindustry is also vital to the labor department because it providesnecessary information about areas of growth, the skills required forthose jobs, and best practices. The department is actively working toidentify the industries that are contracting and those that areexpanding; find ways to raise literacy and occupational skills; measurethe skills of the unemployed to determine how those skills can betransferred to other sectors where there are jobs; get the AmericanRecovery and Reinvestment Act money funneled to states; and providetechnical assistance. Congressman Ruben Hinojosa, chair of the House Subcommittee onHigher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness, noted at theforum that CTE has been integral in developing a skilled workforce inhis constituency. Such programming has been successful in helping tokeep the unemployment rate in the 15th district of Texas low despite apopulation that continues to grow exponentially. He noted that CTEprograms need to continue creating a pipeline from high school topostsecondary education so that workers are being trained for the jobsin local communities. "There is a lot of work to be done throughout thecountry," Congressman Hinojosa said, "We need to hear from you[the CTE community, business and industry and other stakeholders] whatpractices have been most effective." Nominee named for OVAE Assistant Secretary President Barack Obama has announced that Brenda Dann-Messier ishis nominee to head the Office of Vocational and Adult Education in theU.S. Department of Education. Dann-Messier is currently the president ofDorcas Place, an Adult and Family Learning Center in Providence, RhodeIsland. Prior to coming to Dorcas Place she worked at the Northeast andIslands Regional Educational Laboratory at Brown University. She alsopreviously served the Department of Education as Secretary RichardRiley's regional representative for Region I in Boston,Massachusetts. Before going to work for the Clinton Administration,Dann-Messier directed two TRIO programs: the Rhode Island EducationalOpportunity Center (1987-1993) and the Educational Talent Search Program(1991-1993) of the Community College of Rhode Island. Dann-Messier is amember of the Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education andchairs the Academic and Student Affairs subcommittee for the board. Shereceived her B.A. and her M.Ed from Rhode Island College and her ED.D.in Educational Leadership from Johnson and Wales University. ACTE willbe releasing more information about Dann-Messier's background as itbecomes available, and will be reaching out to her to offer our supportas she leads the nation's CTE and adult education systems. Following the panels at the National Leadership Forum, attendeesworked to come up with recommendations. The recommendations will beincluded in a paper to be released by ACTE in the near future. Keepvisiting ACTE's Web site at www.acteonline.org for furtherinformation.