Inaugural Career Compass Summits Point the Way for Region’s CTE
If California were a country, it would be the fifth largest economy in the world, outpacing the entire United Kingdom. However, Golden State industries require a highly skilled workforce to continue to thrive and innovate.
Enter the North Far North Regional Consortium’s first Career Compass Summits, championing stronger talent pipelines to defeat the workforce gap. Taking place in Sacramento on April 30 with another sister summit in Redding on May 2, the events were a unique way to connect, learn, and inspire K-14 career technical education pathways.
“These interactive forums provide a much-needed opportunity to meet new people … and introduce them to your business and the current career opportunities and associated skill sets needed,” says industry partner Ted James, Director of Professional Development and Forest Certification at Sierra Pacific Industries. James attended the Redding summit and says he is “100 percent” glad he did:
“This form of communication keeps educators aware of contemporary industry practices and businesses aware of educational challenges.”
Forging stronger bonds between industry partners, educators, and community members was the hallmark of both summits.
“I was so excited for the opportunity to network,” says Elk Grove Unified School District Director of College and Career Connections Sue Hubbard, who attended the Sacramento summit. “It was really nice to hear what other districts are doing, what other community colleges are doing, and having that opportunity to share best practices.
“It’s powerful when we can get K-16 in the same room and align our work.”
Hubbard was part of a panel highlighting the region’s high school, college, and industry partnerships. She talked about Elk Grove’s teamwork with Cosumnes River College, which benefits high schoolers by offering campus tours and participating in the science fair. Meanwhile, the partners presented their K-14 pathway alignment with the Strong Workforce Program, including engineering, fire and emergency services, and automotive programs.
The panel also touched upon Roseville Joint Union High School District’s unique partnership with Sierra College [read more: Fuel-Injected Futures: Unique K-14 Partnership Drives Accessible Automotive Ed]. Says Hubbard: “It was interesting to see where the similarities are and where there are differences between districts.”
The panel promoted a productive discussion about the “nuts and bolts” of how the unique programs were established, notes Los Rios Community College District Director of Employer Partnerships Julie Muir. “The event brought down the silos and got everybody in the room to figure out how we can make these clear paths for students.”
Industry partners also participated in the panel discussion, highlighting ways they’ve worked with the region’s community colleges and high schools, including support for internship opportunities. The panel included a testimonial from an HR manager representing manufacturing company Harris & Bruno International, who touted the success of the firm’s local high school interns.
“We had one of their former interns who is now an employee speak as well, which was pretty powerful,” says Muir. The alum shared his success story, which started as a traditional four-year college pathway and took a sharp turn when his high school internship sparked a love of welding.
“That was a really good representation of how we can work together with employers, colleges, and high schools to think outside of the box.,” says Muir.
The event included plenty of time to network, with regional community colleges present to showcase their offerings and connect. Distributed programs included the names and contact information of speakers and employers, so “it was an easy takeaway for people who wanted to continue the conversation,” according to Muir.
“I hope the summits will catch on and are something we can do every year.”
The Career Compass Summit made a similar splash further up the 99, connecting experts from throughout the Far North to one-of-a-kind opportunities for learning and networking.
“The summits have the bones to grow and be a focal point of what we do in our region and how we collectively shape CTE,” says Feather River Community College District K-12 Pathway Coordinator Dr. Lisa Kelly, who was thrilled the events included “the whole ecosystem” of K-14 pathways.
The Far North summit included specialized regional workforce data presented by the Centers of Excellence for Labor Market Research, followed by a panel of industry partners, including Shasta Builders Exchange and Health Alliance of Northern California. Former Plumas County student Jesse Lazzarino shared his success story of going from a regional high school welding program to welding and machining motorcycle parts for many years at Honda Motor Company. He went on to teach at Feather River College and now instructs at Plumas Charter School.
“I think it’s important for people who have been in the trades to share our experiences with the next generation,” says Lazzarino. “They need to see what kind of amazing opportunities there are out there for them.”
Another “out of this world” highlight was Shasta High School presenting its partnership with the Consortium for Space Mobility and ISAM Capabilities (COSMIC). Says Kelly, “That presentation lit some fires because the partnership was so profound.”
The program offered an out-of-this-world opportunity for robotics, advanced manufacturing, and CAD students to design and model a deep-space mission.
“We are the first national high school to join COSMIC, which is a nationwide coalition that will invigorate a domestic in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing (ISAM) capability,” says Shasta High School Industrial Robotics Instructor Brian Grigsby. “Utilizing our Space Science/Engineering, CAD (Computer Aided Design), and Advanced Manufacturing classes, we are developing ways to train students to be positioned to take on the challenge of working in the hostile environment of space.”
The partners hope that other schools in the area will join Shasta in building a robust local talent pipeline. According to Shasta High School CTE Engineering, Advance Manufacturing, CAD, and Welding Instructor Bret Barnes, the summit “was a great opportunity to share with our region that we have a skills-ready and career-ready population of students that industry can pull from to ensure successful transitions into the world of work.”
Industry partner Joey Heying, COSMIC Workforce Development Focus Area Lead, says workforce development is pivotal to keeping the U.S. “leading the world in space.” He says, “We are ourselves inspired by the excitement we’re encountering for this effort in communities and venues like the Career Compass Summit.
“Having Shasta High School be part of this effort from day one alongside universities, commercial visionaries, and government leaders is quite a feat.”
In another panel, Plumas Charter School Executive Director Taletha Washburn presented on the topic of systemized, personalized, and sustainable K-12 CTE pathways. Washburn’s presentation was so impactful that, after the summit, a K-12 pathway coordinator from Mendocino County reached out for advice to take their rural CTE programs to the next level. They are now planning to have the Mendocino schools meet with Washburn.
“At the charter school, the goal is to have every student graduate with at least one CTE pathway,” says Kelly. “CTE has become part of the school philosophy … Taletha is ahead of the game and has built in all kinds of early college credit opportunities.”
“The opportunity to network in general at this event was pretty amazing,” adds Washburn. “The conversations are inspiring and validating.”
With innovative educators and industry partners teaming up to serve cutting-edge CTE pathways, the future of the region’s workforce remains bright. “Having this Career Compass Summit was really innovative, and my hat is off to Blaine, Tanya, and the rest of their team,” says Hubbard.
“Anytime we can break down barriers and increase collaboration is a win-win for all our programs.”
Resources:
Link to event PowerPoint slides:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1imk2pc81cXiETXALhh6BWmsU5HuaCkbx
Sacramento agenda:
https://www.accelevents.com/e/registration0#agenda
Redding agenda: https://www.accelevents.com/e/career-compass-summit-nfn#agenda
