Orchard View Middle School students start their journey “career cruising” on the Xello platform, where they can connect their personal and academic interests to job fields such as computer science, welding, automotive repair and cosmetology. They are then introduced to those trades at after-school sessions at the career center.

The “Middle Vision” program, which now includes two other districts, puts students on a path to deeper career exploration in high school and also engages them more deeply in what they are learning in middle school. It also encourages students to stay on track with their grades so the are eligible to attend the career center in 11th and 12th grade, Principal Joshua Smith says.

“We’re helping these kids figure out their passions … and school make much more sense when they can say, ‘Oh, now I know I want to be in food service,'” Smith explains. “They’re more invested and more excited about school.”

About 60 students now attend two-week CTE sessions in writing and illustration, culinary arts, environmental and veterinary medicine, auto collision, medical and health sciences and cosmetology. For example, sixth-graders in the writing and illustration pathway created their own books and showed them off in a presentation to parents, Smith notes.

CTE and design thinking

The exploration continues in seventh- and eighth-grade electives where teachers have been trained in design thinking to embed career-readiness concepts into subjects such as health and STEAM.

One outcome of this process was the creation of the school’s fabrication lab. Students and a STEAM teacher were given free rein to design the space. The students did “empathy interviews” with their classmates to learn what equipment they wanted in the lab. They then built dioramas that they presented to the school board for funding.

The lab is now home to robotics and e-sports teams, among other features. “Middle school is often a time when we see kids start to disconnect,” Orchard View Superintendent Jim Nielsen says. “All of the students involved have found connections to school that weren’t available four or five years ago, and it’s been vital to our sense-of-belonging goals for our district.”

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These programs cover more than traditional hands-on careers such as mechanics, plumbers and electricians. Today, they extend into evolving fields such as wind energy, aviation mechanics, CNC machining, robotics and automation, hybrid and EV automotive and diesel repair, welding, HVACR and many more. Roles in fields like these are expanding career choices beyond white- or blue-collar to include a new breed, the “skilled-collar.”

As parents and educators, we can help today’s students find the path that fits their interests and goals, not someone else’s expectations, by encouraging them to consider a wider variety of education and career choices than currently done.

Beginning career exploration in middle school and junior high

Today, career exploration often starts in high school. However, shifting to middle school and introducing boys and girls to the diverse, skilled-collar career landscape lets them embark on self-discovery and explore interests and strengths they may never have considered or known about. Many hands-on science, technology, engineering and mathematics education and career options didn’t exist just a generation ago.

A few excellent resources that exist to involve middle school and junior high school students in these fields and potential careers include:

• SkillsUSA is a nonprofit organization that offers resources for career and technical educators and students interested in hands-on careers in more than 130 fields. Curriculum resources and information on scholarships and competitions are available online for middle school, high school and college-level teachers and learners.
• TechForce Foundation is a nonprofit committed to career exploration and workforce development for technician professionals. It offers free resources for students, educators and schools through its TechForce network, including $4 million in scholarships and grants, training, local career-focused events, job postings, contests, opportunities to connect with industry and more.
• The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) promotes manufacturing careers, including many skilled trade jobs. NAM’s website includes videos, infographics, lesson plans and other resources for educators and students.
• The U.S. Department of Labor’s CareerOneStop website offers a wealth of information on skilled trades careers, including wages, training and job outlook. Also, the Department of Education’s Career Clusters group different trade careers together and provides information on the skills needed for each cluster.

Shifting perspectives to include these other post-secondary education alternatives is crucial—not just to show students what options exist but to fill the employment demand in many industries today.

Exploring the breadth of post-secondary educational options

Factors fueling Gen Z’s increased interest in skilled trades include labor shortages (75% of employers globally report having challenges filling roles), significant growth in technological trades and the rising cost of four-year colleges.

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The average cost of attendance for a full-time student living on campus at a public four-year school was $21,337 during the 2020-2021 school year, and costs were more than double this for those attending private four-year universities. Secondary students are beginning to realize that the cost of a four-year education may no longer be realistic or representative of the best path. In fact, according to a 2024 report from The Burning Glass Institute, over half of college graduates were underemployed one year after completing their degree.

Meanwhile, trade programs that last two years or less offer targeted technical education for students who want a hands-on career. These programs may also benefit from lower total education costs, shorter lengths and employment demand. Even at the higher end, a technical education is often a more economical choice.

Career paths in skilled-collar fields

Trade programs offer a clear advantage: they equip graduates with targeted technical skills for specific in-demand jobs. With 9.5 million job openings in the U.S. and 6.5 million unemployed workers, the skills gap is one major factor preventing companies from filling roles.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the national annual average job openings between 2022 and 2032, including openings due to net employment changes and net replacements, for technicians in these occupations to be:

• Automotive service technicians and mechanics: 67,000+
• Aviation technicians: 10,000+
• Bus and truck mechanics: 24,000+
• Energy technicians: 39,000+
• HVACR technicians: 37,000+
• Electric-mechanical and mechatronics technologists and technicians: 1,000+
• Welding technicians: 42,000+
• Non-destructive testing technician: 7,000+

Long-term skilled-collar career evolution

While higher education institutions play a vital economic role, a skilled-collar job can open the door to a fast-track pathway to entrepreneurship. This, too, appeals to a generation in which 60% are interested in starting and running their own business. More than one in six skilled tradespeople create their own businesses and 20% become partners in a business.

Working in tandem, traditional higher education and post-secondary trade schools can help meet the needs of today’s and tomorrow’s economy by ensuring students are exposed to the full range of careers available.

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Here are the sizes of the exposure gaps in major STEM and career disciplines:

• Advanced manufacturing: 75%
• Health science: 57%
• Finance: 56%
• Architecture and construction: 53%
• Computers and technology: 51%

“The solution to this lies within redefining education for Black students through access to identity-affirming informal learning environments; so they understand the full scope of their aptitudes, and also the full scope of what careers are possible,” said Cynthia Chapple, founder and CEO of Black Girls Do STEM.

What’s an exposure gap?

As of 2021, just 9% of the STEM workforce was Black. Still, that’s an increase from 7% a decade earlier, the report points out.

The difference between students’ aptitudes (as demonstrated on assessments) and their expressed interests is how the organizations behind the study calculate exposure gaps. The gaps also identify which fields a student hasn’t had the opportunity to explore—particularly the careers that might be a good fit.

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For Black female students, the gaps between aptitude and interest are even more substantial:

• Advanced manufacturing: 88%
• Computers and technology: 73%
• Architecture and construction: 72%

Let’s close the STEM divide

Solving the problem starts with administrators using aptitudes to create more personalized career pathways for Black students. Once students’ aptitudes are identified, educators should engage with families to map out STEM and CTE courses that lead to industry certifications. Students are more likely to follow their aptitudes when they have family support.

These pathways should also be interdisciplinary and career-connected, comprising work-based learning, internships and
apprenticeships.

Black Girls Do STEM, for instance, is a seven-year pathway program that exposes students to STEM fields to stimulate their interests in various career fields. The nonprofit’s two programs, which include a Saturday academy, include mentoring, SAT/ACT preparation, college tours and internships and externships, among other components.

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Competition for early talent is significant. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, companies of every size and industry, across nearly every state are “facing unprecedented challenges trying to find enough workers to fill open jobs. Right now, the latest data shows that we have 9.5 million job openings in the U.S., but only 6.5 million unemployed workers.”

Students, meanwhile, are considering their plans after high school at a much younger age. Some 30% of those enrolled in Connections Academy schools, tuition-free, online public schools for grades K-12, begin thinking about their careers in the 6th to 8th grade.

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And they have many more options now—from taking advanced courses to participating in dual degree programs and earning micro-credentials, all that will save them time and money in college and career.

These facts put school leaders in the perfect position to help employers understand how to attract the next generation utilizing an early talent playbook:

1. Understand the types of businesses that make good school career program partners.

Look at what companies are pillars in the community and what industries they represent. This could be a big manufacturing employer, tech company or municipalities that provide necessary resources like hospitals, energy companies or government entities.

They always have volume, and often prioritize early talent development because they are usually already out in the community at schools and local events. Don’t forget about the small businesses or startups that often excite and can engage students.

2. Evaluate prospective business partners to make sure they’re a good fit.

Begin by ensuring that the values of potential business partners align with those of your school, as you’ll want your students to be in good environments and engaged with appropriate influencers. Then, identify businesses that have opportunities for employment and advancement. Next, consider whether these companies are in a growing industry and how they are performing.

3. Learn about the priorities of the business.

It’s always important to understand what these companies see as their challenges over the next three-to-five years because the talent pool they’ll need to help develop and execute innovative solutions is sitting in your classrooms right now. Some companies just want to be good community citizens and give back by partnering with schools.

But if their talent strategy aligns with their needs based on market opportunities, then having a good understanding of their future is critical. Don’t just look at the company’s existing job postings; that is only what they need today. You need to know what they need for tomorrow, which is not necessarily what they need today.

4. Position the partnership as more than a sponsorship opportunity.

These early conversations in relationship building should help companies consider your school as a true partner in their talent pipeline, not just a billboard. They should be looking at strengthening their connection to you because they view developing early talent as their secret sauce and a competitive advantage.

This is their opportunity to cultivate and interest students early in their company, so when the young people are ready, as juniors and seniors, their first choice—for jobs, apprenticeships, or internships—is the company they’ve been deeply engaged with throughout their middle and high school years.

5. Focus on the future and relationship building.

What you may find to be a challenge with some employers is their laser focus on solving their immediate needs. You must ensure those employers are focused on tomorrow, too. As a school leader, just like you want to know what skills employers are prioritizing in prospective employees to implement their long-range strategic plans, prospective partners need to understand that the talent sitting in your classrooms is critical to their future.

A question to encourage foundational relationship building is, “How are you cultivating your future talent pool?” Or “How can we best prepare our students to be ready for where your company is heading in the future?” Then you’re in a discussion about “pre-recruitment,” not recruitment. Pre-recruitment is the step organizations take before they begin actively recruiting prospective employees.

6. Consider all the opportunities available for your students.

Often, companies don’t want to engage high school students because of age restrictions around hiring or bringing them into their facilities. Companies can engage with these students through exploration opportunities.

As you’re evaluating the business, take a test run. Think more broadly than having a name brand company set up a booth at your career fair or a CEO speak to the whole school. Ask if they’ll send a representative to your school to speak with students about the available pathways to work at their company.

I often recommend schools prioritize inviting professionals who are early in their career—maybe they’ve graduated from high school or college in the last few years. The goal is to have an employee or leader that has a voice that will resonate with students, as they convey a path that seems attainable for them.

Signal you’re serious by asking about internships, apprenticeships, and mentorships, even though those options are rare for high school students. Their response will tell you how open they are to engaging early talent and whether they’re valued as part of their workforce.

7. Establish ways of working, processes, goals, and outcomes.

Once you’ve landed the partnership, one of the early action items should be to determine a check-in cadence and timeline of how often and when you will engage. You should also work together to determine the goals and outcomes that each of you wants at the end of the year. Everyone should be clear about what success looks like.

Visualize what the headline in the local news will be about your partnership and plan for how you want to tell your impact story. And prioritize quality over quantity. It’s better to have five partnerships with organizations that you’re continuing to build and cultivate than 20 who only hang a banner on the outside of your school for advertisement.

8. Work with the right people.

Often the person the school engages with depends on the size of the company. It could be a plant manager or the head of a hospital. If it’s a small startup company, it could be the CEO.

In general, the person you’re typically going to work with in an average size organization is likely in community engagement, corporate social responsibility, workforce engagement, marketing, or human resources.

9. Check out community colleges.

One great way to learn more about partnerships is to work with the community college in your area. They are always dialed into the local businesses, which look at community colleges as talent pipelines, prioritizing early talent and looking to hire. As the leader of a middle or high school, what you want is for these businesses to understand that they should begin their recruitment process earlier.

Go for the win, which initially might be just introducing students to the organization. Or it might be creating brand awareness that sets the stage for career program development.

When you get companies to begin having beneficial engagement with your school and your students, they’ll start to lean in. They’ll develop creative ways to expand opportunities and remove barriers because their experience with your students is humanized and not transactional. This important shift is key to building a sustainable relationship that results in your students’ successful transition to college and career.

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That’s according to new research released this week from the job listings website Indeed, which revealed that more than half (52%) of U.S. job postings on their platform did not mention any formal education requirement as of January. It’s a slight increase compared to 2019’s figures.

In fact, in the last five years the share of job postings that require at least a college degree fell from 20.4% to 17.8%. Across nearly every job sector, the researchers note that educational requirements are on the decline.

“Employers are loosening their formal educational requirements as the labor market remains tight and attitudes toward skill-first hiring practices change,” the report reads. “Those same employers seem more willing to consider candidates who can demonstrate the required skills without necessarily having a degree.”

According to the data, the top 10 most common jobs that require at least a bachelor’s degree include:

1. Industrial engineering
2. Mathematics
3. Civil engineering
4. Electrical engineering
5. Project management
6. Information design and documentation
7. Software development
8. Scientific research and development
9. Human resources
10. Accounting

“There are many possible reasons why educational requirements are fading from job postings,” the authors wrote. “Determining which skills a job seeker has and how proficient they are at them has historically been difficult and expensive.”

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Employers have traditionally leveraged one’s achievement of a college degree as the gold standard for judging one’s ability to execute a particular task. Now, developments in software-as-a-service technologies and methods of pre-employment testing allow employers to rely on the former practice less.

How are schools adapting?

As students’ postsecondary aspirations continue to drift away from the traditional route to higher education, K12 leaders are meeting students’ needs by providing opportunities for skill development and job certification before graduation.

Florida, for instance, recently announced its first-ever statewide high school cybersecurity competition, a field that is in increasing need of skilled workers. CyberLaunch seeks to introduce students to the profession through competition. Here’s how it works:

• A school faculty member signs up for the competition.
• Last fall, Cyber Florida’s Operation K12 program provided that school with free resources to help educators and students learn and prepare.
• This winter, Cyber Florida hosted several rounds of regional activities to introduce students to the competition and its platform.
• In March, the state championship will be held in Orlando. The event is a one-day conference for students and their faculty advisors, including exhibitors and speakers.

Other states like Oregon are expanding career and technical education opportunities for students. This year, the state received more than $17 million to fund these programs, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting. Now, there are more than 1,000 programs available to students throughout the state.

The Utica Community Schools District in Michigan recently celebrated with CBS News regarding its success in preparing students for the workforce.

“It’s skills that they’re going to use,” Jeff Kment, an automotive technologies teacher at Eisenhower High School, told CBS News. “We get a number of students who want to be auto mechanics. We get a number of students who like care. We get a number of students who have different goals and aspirations and want something different in their schedule.

“The programs are always full,” he added. “We never have a shortage of students.”

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So is there a difference between durable and soft skills? Well, we’ve spotted a few new wrinkles in the key terms highlighted by America Succeeds, a nonprofit focused on K12-business collaboration:

• Character
• Mindfulness
• Metacognition
• Leadership
• Growth mindset
• Fortitude
• Critical thinking
• Creativity
• Collaboration
• Character

Metacognition and mindfulness seem to be new characteristics that have been added to the traditional list of soft skills. And “fortitude” seems to be a riff on “resilience.”

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“Durable skills include a combination of how you use what you know—skills like critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity—as well as character skills like fortitude, growth mindset, and leadership,” America Succeeds attests.

The nonprofit has already examined whether these durable skills are included in each state’s college and career readiness standards and where improvement is needed. Massachusetts, for example, includes all of the durable skills noted above in its standards. Texas does not, and the state doesn’t even have specific career readiness standards for K12, America Succeeds points out.

The organization encourages K12 leaders to continue to find ways to measure whether students are developing durable skills and embed these metrics in “college and career-ready projects, experiences, and opportunities, including work-based learning.” Students should have opportunities to demonstrate durable skills across a range of experiences and assessments.

“Durable skills take the old concept of soft skills and expand it across the various attributes required to interact with others and be successful in the workplace,” Forbes explained in a recent article. “Skills such as teamwork, collaboration, negotiation, critical thinking, initiative, risk-taking, creativity, adaptability, leadership, cognitive flexibility and problem-solving are just some of the many durable skills.”

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Nearly 90% of parents want to know more about non-degree pathways and two in five think advising should start in middle school to give students the complete picture of their postsecondary options, says the report, ‘Beyond Degrees,’ from the nonprofits American Student Assistance and Jobs for the Future.

“Helping students, parents, and educators access clear, accurate, and timely information about diverse education-to-career pathways is critical to ensure students don’t miss out on life-changing experiences that could set them up to be inspired, confident, assured of their purpose, and highly employable,” said Maria Flynn, Jobs for the Future’s president and CEO.

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Here are a few key findings from the report:

• Only 28% of parents say that they would be disappointed when asked how they would feel if their child did not enroll in a two- or four-year college. Some 30% would be delighted while 41% were neutral.
• Nearly all educators (97%) think their students are interested in learning more about non-degree pathways. However, half of educators also worry their high school does not provide students with enough information about their options.
• Only 26% of parents believe their children are “very prepared” for their post-high school and career transition.

Knowing more about non-degree pathways

High school students who do not enroll in college are more likely to be employed if they have participated in pathway programs such as apprenticeships and boot camps or if they have earned industry certifications, a previous survey by the two organizations found.

The report urges education leaders to cover college and career options more comprehensively in middle school and offer more opportunities for parents to learn about the various alternatives, including how to gauge the quality of non-degree pathways. Closer collaboration with business and industry would encourage more employers to invest in skills-based hiring practices.

“While the data suggests that parents and educators believe nondegree pathways present promising opportunities for today’s youth, it’s clear that many are unsure of how to help students identify, assess, and navigate these kinds of postsecondary options that will set them up for lifelong success,” concluded Jean Eddy, president and CEO of American Student Assistance.

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That finding comes from 500,000 aptitude assessments examined by the company, whose software helps students plot career pathways. Here are some of the key revelations from the report, including a look at an emerging “exposure gap”:

• 39% of students have an aptitude for careers in health science
• 32% of students have an aptitude for careers in computers and technology
• 30% of students have an aptitude for careers in agriculture and natural resources
• 29% of students have an aptitude for careers in advanced manufacturing
• 75% more students have aptitude but not interest in computers and technology careers
• 66% more students have aptitude but not interest in advanced manufacturing careers
• 48% more students have aptitude but not interest in agriculture and natural resources careers
• 43% more students have aptitude but not interest in health science careers

Bias, whether conscious or unconscious, is perpetuating these gaps, the report contends. Male students, for example, may more often be steered toward law enforcement than nursing. Also, career interest surveys may not be the most effective planning tools because students are likely to choose fields about which they are already familiar, the report adds.

“Students have untapped potential for in-demand occupations but lack a clear understanding of their skills and how they align with careers,” said Edson Barton, founder and CEO of YouScience. “In an era of rapid economic and technological changes, it’s essential for students to grasp their full range of abilities.”

In-demand careers: A course correction

The overarching solution for education leaders is to create more personalized career pathways that tap more directly into students’ aptitudes. Young people must also be encouraged to work toward and earn certifications in the industries that will provide post-graduation jobs, the report explains.

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Education leaders should ensure students’ family members are invited to collaborate with guidance counselors on career planning, particularly around CTE courses, certification programs and higher education. Administrators should also create interdisciplinary teaching teams and career clusters that can better support students’ personalized career pathways.

Schools, finally, should continue to expand work-based learning programs with internships, apprenticeships and other experiences that connect students with business and industry.

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Pressures on the wider U.S. workforce caused by a lack of workers with the requisite skills will drive more collaboration between K12 schools and employers, say product developers who are forecasting 2024’s biggest education trends.

These college and career trends will also drive a surge in popularity in CTE programs. “As the talent shortage concern shifts to the state level, 2024 will be a year of increased collaboration between employers, schools and government agencies,” says Jeri Larsen, the chief operating officer of YouScience, a career guidance platform for students.

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“The goal will be to create a more responsive and adaptable education system that ensures the workforce remains well-equipped to meet the evolving demands of the job market.”

District leaders will be updating curriculums with a deeper focus on future-ready skills and adding more work-based learning, STEM education and vocational training programs.

“These efforts will be aimed at equipping students with the skills that are in high demand in the job market and promoting a broader range of career paths,” Larsen notes. “With a rapidly changing job market and evolving skill requirements, schools and education systems will find themselves under increased scrutiny to ensure that students are adequately prepared for the workforce.

Employers should grow ever more eager to collaborate with schools and districts, predicts Hans Meeder, a senior fellow for education and workforce education at YouScience and a former deputy assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Education.

“Yet, a challenge lies in the limited experience of schools and districts in systematically collaborating with business partners,” Meeder points out. “Many are still navigating this uncharted territory, actively searching for tools, guidance and real-world examples to establish partnerships that are not only effective but also sustainable.”

What other issues will be top of mind for K12 leaders and their teams in 2024? Here are predictions, hopes and forecasts from solution providers that cover a range of education topics.

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The most important thing to know is that a district, no matter the size, can’t go it alone, says Marisa Mission, co-author of “Scaling Opportunity,” Bellwether’s policy playbook for building statewide career pathways programs. Though the report focuses on Delaware’s program, its lessons—covering curriculum, internships and work-based experiences—also apply to district-level initiatives, Mission adds.

“Employers need to buy in to help determine curricula and help districts understand the competencies will get graduates employment,” she continues, adding that K12 leaders shouldn’t limit their programs to the high school level.

“Expanding to middle school expands equity,” Mission explains. “If students are aware of opportunities earlier on and learn more, they have more time to make choices. They’re on a more equal footing rather than having to rely on family or social capital.”

Here are seven steps s for forming key partnerships and paving career pathways:

1. Align on and articulate a vision: Districts can assemble an advisory committee that consists of educators, business leaders, local officials and community members. The group can draft a strategic plan that sets a broad vision, creates a structure for the pathways program and identifies underrepresented stakeholders.

2. Build and sustain key partnerships: The superintendent is likely the one who will begin forming partnerships with a wider group of employers that will provide work experience and with nonprofit organizations that can help with funding and coordination.

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3. Ensure that programs are high quality and easy to implement: Identify and design pathways that meet the needs of local employers or fill gaps in other local career readiness programs.

4. Commit to data collection to assess impact and improve practice: Make career pathways data publicly available, including disaggregated data on participation and outcomes, to ensure programs are operating equitably. Districts can also share data with higher education and state labor agencies.

5. Create accountability around equity: Identify gaps and barriers that are limiting equitable access to career pathways programs. Convene teachers, parents, students and administrators to share ideas for closing equity gaps. Train district staff to identify and eliminate unconscious biases. Partner with advocates for historically underserved student populations.

6. Communicate the value of pathways programs to employers: Ensure industries and employers know the steps they cant take to support career pathways programs. Create a value-added argument that communicates why supporting pathways programs is good for business.

Bellwhether’s report also explores various funding sources districts and their partners can leverage to ensure career pathways programs are sustainable. “If a district is doing something great at the local level, it can inspire the state to take action,” Mission concludes.

District Administration‘s Superintendent’s Playbook series examines how superintendents, principals and other administrators are solving common problems that today’s educators are facing.

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