From the Penn IUR and Penn GSE sponsored conference: “Preparing Today’s Students for Tomorrow’s Jobs in Metropolitan America: The Policy, Practice and Research Issues" May 25-26, 2011 Organized by Laura Perna, a professor in Penn GSE, and Susan Wachter, a professor in Penn’s Wharton School, “Preparing Today’s Students for Tomorrow’s Jobs” explores the most effective institutional and public-policy strategies to be sure high school and college students and adult learners have the knowledge and skills required for future employment. “The conference addresses such critical questions as: How do we define success with regard to the role of education in preparing students for work?” Perna said. “How well are different educational providers preparing future workers? What is the role of public policy in improving connections between education and work? “It seeks to improve our understanding of several fundamental dimensions of this issue through insights from federal, state and local policy leaders, college administrators and researchers.” Guest speakers include Eduardo Ochoa, assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Education; former Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell; Lori Shorr, chief education officer to Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter; Charles Kolb from the Committee for Economic Development in Washington, D.C.; Claudia Neuhauser from the University of Minnesota; Bethany Krom from the Mayo Clinic; and Harry Holzer from Georgetown University. “Much recent attention focuses on the need to improve high school graduation and college degree completion. But, relatively less attention has focused on whether graduates and degree recipients have the skills and education required by employers,” Perna said. The event is sponsored by the Penn’s Pre-Doctoral Training Program in Interdisciplinary Methods for Field-Based Research in Education, with funding from the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute for Education Sciences in collaboration with Penn’s Institute for Urban Research.

1. A Fresh Look at Career and Technical Education Nancy Hoffman, Jobs for the Future, May 2011

2. The Problem How youth are faring today Rising youth unemployment Low high school completion rates Low certificate, AA and BA completion rates Even with degree, many poorly integrated into labor force, some permanently left behind Goals of Lumina, Obama, College Board– 55% to 60% of population with degree by 2020-25 unrealistic-- & what of the” forgotten half”?

6. The current US reality: only 40% of 27-year olds have earned an AA or higher

7. Current High School CTE policy Young people want to be prepared for work: 1 in 5 concentrate in CTE in high school; most take at least one career course; majority in community colleges enroll in career fields. (NCES) Strategy: Engage disconnected and low achieving youth Promote career exploration Keep all options open Prepare all for college (and career) but really college

8. Some worrisome patterns post high school California recent research on community college CTE credential attainment (IHELP): 255,000 degree seeking students 2004-05 30% of course enrollments in CTE Within 6 years, 3% earned voc AA degree, 5% earned certificate Completers took almost no remedial courses and stumbled on courses like math and physiology

9. “College for All” does not mean everyone needs a BA; even in this decade, many jobs with career ladders do not require a BA

10. But every young person needs to integrate into the labor market Healthy youth development Belief in future Exercise of agency Place in the pubic world Testing of competence Discovery of skills, talents, and proclivities Civic participation based on faith in government Productive economic future Live independent of family Participate in economy as a consumer Form a family Change career as economy demands

11. In ”strong VET countries,” 50 to 75% of upper secondary students are in vocational education and training

13. What the US should envy from abroad: Qualifications systems Employer engagement Intermediaries to ease burden on employers providing work-based learning Problem-based skills and content teaching in the workplace combined with school Standardized applied assessments Regional entities linking labor market needs and educational programs Youth guarantees for struggling young people

14. Must haves for a (better) system ***Employer and business leader engagement in design and support of effective pathways to careers Structured pathways with clear requirements, timelines, and outcomes leading from high school though postsecondary credential completion; Opportunities to engage young people in workplace learning; Effective career counseling and guidance, including scaffolded exposure to employers and career pathways beginning in the middle grades New institutional structures at the regional labor market level to provide coordination, quality assurance, and sustainability.

15. Not a system but many promising practices within and across states… High Schools that Work Career Academies Project Lead the Way Linked Learning Cristo Rey, Big Picture, and Year Up Perkins-funded CTE programs of study Earn and learn early colleges

16. CTE and Regional Labor Market Needs New NGA Report, “Degrees for What Jobs? Raising Expectations for Universities and Colleges in a Global Economy Profiles Minnesota, Washington, Ohio and North Carolina’s employer engagement strategies Proposes that higher education be less independent, take on broader economic development role Provides promising examples of employer engagement but doesn’t quite link the two… Nice intermediate step is identifying the reorientation needed in higher ed, but doesn’t ask employers to step up…