The Future Is
Bri g ht State’s Innovative K-12 Education and Career Development Partnership Has become an Inspiring Way-of-Life! Dr. Eric Mackey
Alabama State Superintendent of Education Over the past decade, our state has focused more of its efforts on developing the academic range and full set of essential workplace skills of all Alabama K-12 students. The long term goal is to ensure that every student in our state is both prepared to graduate and to become a top college and career ready leader who is prepared for a lifetime of personal success. National experts continue to indicate that our full recovery from the devastating global pandemic will rely heavily on sustained economic growth over the next few years – Our nation must maintain its world-class and highly skilled workforce. Alabama’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) program has been instrumental in this effort. This past February, our state officially celebrated Alabama CTE Month 2022. Many local schools and communities throughout Alabama hosted special in-school events, online career fairs, virtual college and business tours, and jobetiquette workshops to highlight the great impact that high school and middle school career preparation are having on overall student success. CTE is preparing K-12 students for indemand career opportunities in America’s leading career areas. *Why are students
joining Career Technical Student Organizations (CTSOs) and local CTE classes? Hear these honest answers, directly from Alabama 8
students:
“Alabama’s workforce development efforts are truly connecting K-12 education, postsecondary learning, and professional-career development in our state,” said State Superintendent, Dr. Eric Mackey. “Over 173,000 students in grades 9-12 are now enrolled in Alabama CTE programs. We are truly appreciative for the great partnership that has been created between our local schools, state Workforce Development Council, and state lawmakers. It has had such a great impact on the career and postsecondary readiness of our high school graduates.” Today’s students will soon be our nation’s next generation of top executives, business professionals, and highly respected community leaders. U.S. high school and college students have many promising career options available. According to top experts, over the next decade America’s leading occupations that require college-level or advanced professional credentials, will have record-breaking job openings. Alabama over the past five years has seen a 120 percent growth in workplace credentials earned, with 81.9 percent of students in Alabama schools currently enrolled in at least one Winter Issue 2022
