By Phil Berkenbile, Ed. D.
State Director of Career and Technology Education

CareerTech Helps Create Bright Future

The growth and expansion of business and industry across our state is cause for celebration: it brings new opportunities for our citizens and new challenges for Oklahoma’s CareerTech system.

As a cornerstone for Oklahoma’s economic growth and workforce development, we prepare students to excel in the workplace—teaching them not only the technical skills but also the work skills they need to become valued employees. CareerTech students in middle schools, high schools, and technology centers continue to excel at the national level—proof to everyone that our state’s future is in good hands.

Over the years, our system has changed to meet the new needs of education and the new expectations of business and industry.  When high school academic and workplace standards increased, we integrated more math, science and reading into all content areas.

We recognize that the higher-level skills students use in college are now also needed to meet the ever-changing demands of the workforce. Therefore, the skills we teach in CareerTech programs—both technical and academic—will serve students well in their future careers. Not all students will go to college, but we must prepare all students, through career pathways, for success at all levels.

The initiatives of Achieving Classroom Excellence and Cooperative Alliances, which allow students to earn college credit for programs taken at our technology centers, are helping raise expectations for all students. CareerTech makes academics relevant for students and at the same time prepares them to make a successful transition to college or a successful transition to the world of work.

 Nearly one in five Oklahomans, ages 18 and over, report having completed a career-technical program, which makes CareerTech the most common level of educational attainment beyond high school with our state’s workers.  And with our help, the remediation rates for technology center students going on to college is decreasing at a faster rate than that for all students, falling 6.1 percent in FY05.

Our state’s system of career and technology education is an essential part of the total education system and crucial to the success of business and industry in Oklahoma. Technology centers last year exceeded more than 400,000 enrollments in the safety, technical, organizational development, management, and productivity training programs offered to employees of Oklahoma companies. The services we provide to entrepreneurs and business start-ups also strengthen Oklahoma’s economy.  

Because our system trains students in many locations and in various ways, including online learning and programs in prisons, it is difficult to measure the impact with one metric. However, the most widely accepted measurement is positive placement, and in FY06 Oklahoma CareerTech’s placement rate was 94.29 percent.  This includes students going into the workforce, joining the military or continuing their education.  The number of industry-recognized credentials earned by our students is another measure of our ability to prepare qualified workers. Our Training for Industry, Safety and Existing Industry programs also have the data to show their positive impact on Oklahoma’s economy. 

Oklahoma’s CareerTech system is industry-focused, performance-driven and student-centered to help Oklahomans succeed in the workplace, in education and in life. That is our mission because we believe in creating a bright future for Oklahoma.