Career and technical education: pursuing a pipeline for the new green collar workforce.

Career and technical education: pursuing a pipeline for the new green collar workforce. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] As the white- and blue-collar jobs are thinning because of theeconomic downturn, the economy is being rejuvenated by a new color ofcollar jobs--green. Green jobs encompass a range of skills, educationalbackgrounds and occupational profiles. The green industry has beenrecognized as a high-growth workforce sector because of the demand forsustainability products and services, in addition to governmentinitiatives (Collaborative Economics, 2008). Within the next 20 years, one in four Americans will be directly orindirectly employed in a green industry (Bezdek, 2007); however, reportsindicate that there is a tremendous shortage of qualified individualswith the necessary skills to work in the green economic market. Despitethe exploding interest in green jobs and the real potential for theirdevelopment, there is a lack of a trained workforce that is hinderingthe development of green industries (White and Walsh, 2008). To ensure apipeline of qualified individuals, education and training is necessaryto prepare students for the industries into which they will be entering. Career and technical education (CTE) is posited to support theeconomic recovery effort. With its foundation in preparing and trainingthe workforce, CTE is responsive to industry trends and workforce needs.To efficiently and effectively produce skilled workers for the greenindustries, early career exposure is a necessity for students toconsider a green career and navigate through a career pathway. White andWalsh (2008) suggested that an increased investment in career-relatedexperiences for students during the high school years can developpractical labor market skills, thus improving their postsecondary labormarket prospects. Green-Collar Curriculum Project Sally E. Arnett, assistant professor at Northern IllinoisUniversity's School of Family, Consumer and Nutrition Sciences,partnered with Community High School in West Chicago, Illinois, on aproject titled, "CTE: Preparing the New Green CollarWorkforce." A team of CTE and academic teachers developed a unit ofinstruction for secondary career education classes (i.e., consumereducation, cooperative education). The purpose of the curriculum is to expose students to thegreen-collar workforce while integrating science, technology,engineering and mathematics (STEM) in an applied context. The curriculumunit contains six lesson plans with supporting materials; is alignedwith the Illinois Learning Standards; details student outcomes; andidentifies teacher and student resources. The six lesson topics are:Introduction to Green, Green Discovery Learning, STEM Connection inGreen Careers, Green Career Opportunities, Green Career Pathways, andGreen Skills and Green Education. The curriculum was implemented into the career education classes atCommunity High School. The career education teachers customized theirlessons to allow students to link career opportunities, skills neededand education pathways to the local economy of West Chicago. Patti Kozlowski, a family and consumer sciences teacher,incorporated the unit into her consumer education course by havingstudents engage in a problem-based learning project to initiate theirinterest in green opportunities. Six teams of students selected an areaof need for a green issue in their school. Students researched thestatus of the school on topics such as the amount of paper used in ourschool. When Kevin Kane, supervisor of the school's buildings andgrounds, spoke to the class he reported that the school used 5 millionpieces of paper the previous year and it was increasing. Students in theclassroom immediately became interested and were brainstorming ways tomake a difference. The team produced a PowerPoint presentation of thebreakdown of how much paper was used in each department and compared itto the number of trees needed. "['his team presented theinformation to the entire staff at a faculty meeting and provided a listof solutions to change or improve their ways of using paper. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Suggestions included: printing paper two-sided, giving electronictests and lessons in lab situations, providing team packets instead ofindividual packets, and putting course syllabus online. As a result ofthe student-initiated projects, staff was provided with ways to savepaper. Another team presented its project at a school board meeting: asystem of shredding and recycling that could be brought to the schoolfor a small monthly fee. Currently, the school has a system of recyclingthat is cost effective, but the team provided alternatives. School boardmembers e-mailed resources the Green Club could work with to keep thiseffort moving forward. The team members said, "Mrs. Kozlowski, thisis the best project we have done all year." Why? Students made adifference in their school and community, and perhaps this initiated aninterest in seeking out jobs with a green niche. Teaching About Green Careers Peggy Peach, a business education teacher at the school, taught thelessons about green career pathways, skills and education to herCooperative Work Training students. The goal of these lessons was toempower students in taking charge of their career destiny and makingthem realize that greening their career choice will increase theiremployment potential. She emphasized, "The key to having a successful career is toensure that the career matches your personality, passion andskills." Students completed a career interest survey such as theone found at http://ilcis.intocareers.org/ jrsurvey/JrSurvey_intro.aspx.Each student then chose a career cluster and researched it regarding thecluster's typical duties/tasks; required skills/abilities;education and training requirements; employment outlook; and pay range.Next, students chose a specific career from their cluster to modify andtransform into a green career. Students created a poster board orPowerPoint presentation for their classmates highlighting the researchand green modifications. This allowed all the students to be informed ofother green careers. The next step was the educational component. Students used the U.S.Department of Education's College Opportunities Online Locator andvarious other sites to compile a list of specific green communitycollege programs, university majors, online courses, certificatetraining programs, internships and apprenticeships. After compiling the list, students sorted it according to role(management, technical, hands-on, nontechnical, and marketing/sales).Finally, students were placed in teams so that they could complete aninformation sheet listing each program's details. These detailsincluded the program's description, Web site address, completiontime, educational level acquired upon completion, fees and/ or tuition,educational or work experience prerequisites, and job qualificationsupon completion. This experience gave students an opportunity to learnhow to seek out and research green training and educational programs. After the completion of the lessons, a group of students expressedan interest in seeking out community college programs for alternativeenergy careers because many of these programs would get them intocareers that had positive job outlooks. Peach commented, "Byimplementing the green-collar workforce curriculum, these studentsrecognized the potential of pursuing a green career and positioningthemselves with a marketable future." Looking Ahead The green economy presents students with many job opportunities,but they need to be aware of the marketable and in-demand careersavailable. The "CTE: Preparing the New Green Collar Workforce"curriculum provides CTE teachers with instructional methods andmaterials to include in their overall career development coursecurricula. Educating students about the relevant workforce needs, suchas green jobs, has the potential to inspire students to pursue careersin this sector and provide employers with a pipeline of skilledindividuals for the workforce demands of the 21st century. Creating student awareness of green-collar careers can inspire theimprovement of societal conditions and students' own quality oflife. CTE is committed to a continued effort to empower students topursue a greener life in their communities, and fulfilling careers. References Bedzek, R. (2007). "Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency:Economic Drivers for the 21st Century." Retrieved May 20, 2009,from www.ases. org/images/stories/ASES-JobsReport-FinaLpdf. Collaborative Economics. (2008). "Cleon Technology and theGreen Economy." Retrieved May 7, 2009, fromwww.getrealca.com/media/ CESP/greeneconomy/20080317.pdf. White, S., & Welsh, J. (2008). "Greener Pathways: Jobs andWorkforce Development in the Cleon Energy Economy." Retrieved May4, 2009, from http://apolloalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/greenerpathwaysl.pdf. For further information regarding the CTE: Preparing the New GreenCollar Workforce curriculum contact Sally Arnett at sarnett@niu.edu. Sally E. Arnett, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the School ofFamily, Consumer and Nutrition Sciences at Northern Illinois University,DeKalb, Illinois. She can be contacted at sarnett@niu.edu. Patti Kozlowki is a family and consumer sciences teacher atCommunity High School in West Chicago, Illinois, and is currently theIllinois Association of Career and Technical Education president. Shecan be contacted at pkoztowski@d94.org. Peggy Peach is a business education teacher and Cooperative WorkTraining Coordinator at Community High School in West Chicago, Illinois.She con be contacted at ppeach@d94.org. Erika Varela is a science and family and consumer sciences teacherat Palatine High School, Illinois. She can be contacted atevarela@d11.org.