Ohio Business Leaders Want Students To Explore Careers Earlier In K-12

Ohio’s business and education leaders are uniting behind new state policy to help students as early as middle school explore and experience potential career fields, so they are better prepared to seize on the increasing number of lucrative opportunities after graduation.

The Career-Connected Learning Coalition is fueled by a troubling state finding that 45% of the class of 2017 either left school without graduating or pursued no education or credential beyond high school.

So, for nearly half of the graduating class that year, high school was their final formal education before entering the workforce. If that trend continues, many high school graduates will be locked into low-paying jobs with little to no prospects for advancement into well-paying ones that are on the ascent in the state—and there are many of them.

Ohio Excels, the nonprofit group leading the coalition, reports that corporations like Amgen, AWS, Google, Honda-LG, Intel and others are joining employers in Ohio to launch significant new, high-tech investments. There are more than 100,000 job openings paying $50,000 or more right now. By 2031, Ohio is projected to have more than 5 million jobs—with 66% of them requiring post-secondary education or credentials.

“Ohio employers are increasingly seeking skilled talent to fill high-paying jobs in the state’s fastest-growing industries. As we move toward a more competitive and innovative future, we must rethink how we prepare students for success beyond high school,” said Ohio Excels President Lisa Gray. “Unfortunately, too many students are leaving high school without the critical experiences needed to link their education to in-demand careers and postsecondary education, which is why we’re urging Ohio policymakers to take bold, immediate action to implement these recommendations.”

The Career-Connected Learning Coalition hopes to increase student exposure to educational programs that offer both academic and technical courses, work-based learning and in-demand credentials pegged to industry needs. These pathways prepare K-12 students with the skills, certifications and experiences required by employers—before they graduate high school. Think nursing, engineering technicians, software developers, financial and agricultural managers.

“Introduce students to potential careers earlier in their K-12 timeline, and they’ll start to find more relevance in their courses and instruction,” said Melissa Cropper, president at Ohio Federation of Teachers, who participated in a recent panel event on the coalition. “They’ll begin to see themselves in a particular field or also know that they absolutely don’t want to be in that field. Both data points are crucial for helping students make decisions about their future,” she said.

The approach includes baking into curricula a keen focus on the job market, including activities like exploring various careers and career pathway options with students, while also providing career coaching. It includes educational programs that provide both academic and technical courses, work-based learning and in-demand credentials pegged to industry needs.

The push for career-focused education has wide support in the state. Members of the coalition include a range of groups, including teachers, superintendents, school counselors, career-tech leaders, business groups and state agencies. The effort is endorsed by several organizations, including the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, Alliance for High Quality Education, the Greater Cleveland Career Consortium, Learn to Earn Dayton, the Ohio Association of Career-Technical Educators, the Ohio Farm Bureau, and the Ohio Federation of Teachers.

The effort comes as the National Governors Association has embarked on its own national educational initiative that unites governors in a similar cause—better preparing kids to fill jobs as new industries take root across the country, and helping students understand and select the career paths that work best for them. Ohio’s policy proposals may very well serve as a national model for other states to follow.

“Too many of our students are graduating from high school without a plan for their future. Both what they want to do and how to get there,” Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said in his recent state of the state address.

By firmly linking K-12 education to the economy, Ohioans stand to better prepare their children for the future and for success.