Perkins V maintains a primary focus on the development and maintenance of effective CTE programs of study (POS) that prepare students for successful entry into the workforce. One of the more significant changes in the new law is an increased emphasis on data-driven decision making and planning, especially at the local level. Detailed labor market information will need to be collected to determine the status of high-demand, high-wage, and high-skill jobs within the state and local regions. This information should be used to guide decisions and planning around CTE POS. All eligible agencies will be required to demonstrate a strong alignment between POS and state/local workforce needs that is supported by relevant and current workforce data.
The process for CTE POS Development and Maintenance is:
- Gather State and Local Workforce Data
- Identify High-Demand, High-Wage, High-Skill Jobs
- Engage in Data-Driven Decision Making and Planning
- Align CTE POS with State and Local Workforce Needs
Pathway2Careers offers a critical bridge between education and industry that can help policymakers and educators connect with the realities of their state and local job markets. It offers a flexible system that:
- Contains state and local labor market information
- Presents labor market information organized around the National Career Clusters Framework
- Easily reveals high-demand, high-wage, high-skill jobs with simple one-click functions
- Provides the ability to print, save, and share search outputs and tables
- Offers detailed guides and resources to simplify exploration and reporting efforts
High-demand careers can be defined as careers for which there are numerous job openings. When particular jobs are abundant, this indicates a high need in the economy for employees to fill those positions. To identify jobs with numerous openings, information pertaining to “annual openings” is typically reviewed.
The term “annual openings” refers to the average number of job openings projected for each year. Openings can represent expanding job opportunities, as well as jobs that open up when individuals retire or move into a different career.
One method for identifying high-demand jobs in a particular region is to sort occupations by annual openings. In the P2C system this is accomplished by simply clicking the column heading for annual openings. When annual openings are sorted from highest to lowest, occupations that are in highest demand appear at the top of the list.
Annual openings can be sorted for all occupations within a region or for occupations within specific clusters. Sorting openings for all occupations provides insight into occupations that are highest in demand, regardless of career cluster. Sorting occupations within career clusters provides insight into demand for occupations associated with particular industries.
Identifying high-demand careers is to focus primarily on annual openings. Information related to annual openings is the most direct indicator of expected employment need for any given occupation.
Job growth information can be used to identify occupations that may need to be excluded, due to significant negative growth. Occupations with declining opportunity could suggest a shrinking industry that would not provide long-term job stability for those entering the field now or in the future.
