CLUSTER TEN: PROTECTIVE SERVICES AND LAW

Quick Takeaways

Demand: The protective services and law cluster includes occupations focused on providing legal, public safety, and protective services. Occupations in-demand in three regions of the state are paralegals and legal assistants, corrections officers and jailors, and security guards. Supply: The paralegal certificate and the associate degree programs had 67 and 57 percent of graduates found in Tennessee employment data, respectively. The associate degree program had an even higher employment rate and first-year wage of $68,183. Unmet needs: There are hundreds of vacancies for correctional officers in the state. The high school CTE corrections program may fill some of these with 1,234 concentrators in 2020-21. Paralegals are among the programs with employment rates greater than 60 percent and earnings greater than the state median wage.

The protective services and law career cluster includes occupations focused on providing legal, public safety, and protective services.

Paralegals and legal assistants, which are in-demand in three regions of the state, support lawyers through activities such as preparation of legal documents and researching legal precedent. Most paralegals and legal assistants work in legal services but are employed in other industries as well, such as headquarters or business support services industries. Online job postings in Tennessee seek candidates with skills in Microsoft Office, including Word or PowerPoint, and skills in maintaining calendars.93

Security guards represent 43 percent of the total annual projected job openings within protective service occupations and are in-demand in three regions. Security guards typically work in the investigation and security services industry but can also work directly for colleges and universities and other public institutions.94 Security guards are represented in the workforce of TNECD’s aerospace & defense industry sector. This sector contains companies specializing in the production of everything from aerospace parts and helicopters to handguns and uranium for nuclear weapons, necessitating personnel for onsite security and protection.

There are 10 in-demand occupations in the protective services and law career cluster with four occupations typically requiring some form of postsecondary training. Tennessee institutions offer sub-baccalaureate programs for legal assistants and fire science.

Lawyers are in-demand in two of nine regions in Tennessee. Over 233 individuals completed law degrees at Tennessee public and TICUA reporting institutions, with about half of those graduates found in the Tennessee job market. Juris doctorate programs prepare graduates in the theory and practice of the legal system, including the statutory, administrative, and judicial components of civil and criminal law.95 To practice law in Tennessee, graduates must also successfully pass the bar exam.96

Protective Services And Law Aligned Academic Programs

Postsecondary Protective Services and Law Degrees, 2020-21

Source: P20 Connect, public postsecondary and select private postsecondary completers, 2020-21 and TDLWD Unemployment Insurance (UI) employment and wage records.

High School CTE Protective Services and Law Completers, 2020-21

Source: P20 Connect, TDOE high school CTE completers, 2020-21 and TDLWD Unemployment Insurance (UI) employment and wage records.

There are hundreds of vacancies for correctional officers exist in the state. The high school CTE corrections program may fill some of these with 1,234 concentrators in 2020-21.