2024 CTE Works! Summit

We know employer engagement and partnerships is vital in career exposure and exploration, but how do we do this in a way that is scalable, replicable and accessible to all? The Explore Essentia Career Pyramid is a model designed to walk education and employer partners together through the process of building a concrete framework of experience and exposure. Utilizing lessons learned from both education and employer perspectives, this session is an opportunity to try out building your own pathway for partnerships that can be used with any employer/education partner.

How can we ensure that students are prepared for success in the professional world, and that employers are prepared to receive students and their learning curve ahead? Together in this interactive session, we will explain a step-by-step methodology that employers and education partners can use to ensure students are exposed to a broad range of career options, develop professional skills and workplace readiness, and apply those skills in meaningful career-enhancing learning experiences. A former college career counselor (Andrea) and Marketing professional (Kathy) now engaged in Workforce Development for an expansive healthcare system, the Essentia team has worked to design a model utilized to walk students from broad exposure to specific career development opportunities and eventually into roles as future educators and mentors for the next generation to come. This session will take you from interest to implementation, providing a framework that can be used to create equitable and just career exploration, exposure, and experience building opportunities. Learn, reflect and grow together as we examine lessons learned and create pathways for success for all students across all industries.

By the end of this session, you will be able to: 

1. Understand the scope of careers in healthcare for all skill levels.
2. Plan a cadence of engagement opportunities in order to expose students to careers across industries.
3. Identify ways to better prepare students to be successful in navigating the trends and gaps in the current job market and application process.

Creating authentic youth work experiences require deep partnership between schools, employers and intermediaries. In 2023, Greater Twin Cities United Way partnered with the Minnesota Chamber Foundation to support 11 local chambers of commerce working closely in their communities to offer supportive and career aligned work experiences for young people to grow their local talent workforce. This session will feature a panel of leaders from Owatonna, Redwood Area Chamber and the Winona Area Chamber of Commerce who will share more about the growth of their programs, how they create authentic employer partnerships and guidance on working with schools.

Greater Twin Cities United Way set out in 2015 to re-shape how our schools prepare students for success. We founded Career Academies to provide more youth a path toward a meaningful career, while ensuring key industries have the skilled workers they need.

With support from the Pathways to Prosperity Network and Jobs for the Future (JFF) out of the Harvard School of Education, we have aligned school districts, colleges and employers behind a powerful vision: to unite public education and employment systems so that all students in Minnesota have pathways to wealth-building and purpose driven careers.

Partnering with school districts, post-secondary partners, employers and workforce intermediaries across Minnesota, Career Academies provides specialized funding, technical assistance and coaching, and a platform for peer-to-peer support focused on building sustainable career pathways alongside local businesses.

Together, we work to ensure students have equitable access to college credits, rigorous and relevant curriculums, and meaningful and supportive work experiences.

Minnesota Chamber Foundation Business Education Network
Career Academies is proud to partner with the Minnesota Chamber Foundation and their Business Education Network (BEN) which is a private-sector solution to employers’ urgent need to find skilled, qualified and ready workers for jobs across our state. The BEN is employer-led, connecting students with high-demand careers in their community and region. Local chambers of commerce are the linchpin to the success of the BEN. They drive these programs and connect area employers with K-12 and higher education leaders.

Future Ready Workforce Fund
A critical part of a successful career pathways strategy is high-quality work experiences for youth that are aligned and stackable within a specific pathway, allowing for youth to advance in one career field or transition to another, increasing pay or experience. Since our work started in 2015, the education field has made significant progress toward offering career pathways aligned work experiences for youth. And yet, currently, our system of internships and youth work experiences are disconnected from career pathways and miss an opportunity for academic and work experiences to be aligned around a student’s individual interests, strengths and career aspirations.

Through the Future Ready Workforce Fund, United Way will catalyze school-business partnerships to fill the gaps that exist in our current educational system toward all students in Minnesota accessing wealth-building, purpose driven careers.

Moderator: GTUCW / MN Chamber
1. Owatonna
The SteeleCo Works program is a collaborative between the Owatonna Chamber, Workforce Development Inc and the United Way of Steele County. The partners are planning to focus on students in grades 10-12 who are unsure what they want to do after high school, all students are part of career pathways at Owatonna and they are continuing to expand this program. In this pilot program, they will extend work experiences/internships into the summer (8 weeks) and provide support to address barriers (transportation). Work experiences will be identified based on the interest of the students and take place in the summer. Typically, this will be in either manufacturing or mechanic work in diesel mechanic industries. Other work experiences will be tailored to individual student interest in veterinarian work, or health care.

2. Redwood Area Chamber & Tourism
Redwood Area Chamber and Tourism is partnering with Redwood Area Schools to expand career and work experiences for high school seniors. Through the 'Cardinal Pathways' program, the school district will offer internships as part of the school day and includes high school credit and a senior year capstone. Students choose from a variety of industries aligned to career pathways: Manufacturing (machining/mechatronics & welding & construction.

After this session, you will be able to:

1. Understand Key Strategies for Building Effective Partnerships: Participants will learn about the essential strategies and best practices for establishing and maintaining successful partnerships between schools, employers, and community organizations/intermediaries to enhance youth work experiences.
2. Identify and Address Common Challenges in Partnership Development: Attendees will be able to recognize common barriers to creating and sustaining partnerships, such as misaligned goals or resource constraints, and develop actionable solutions to overcome these challenges.
3. Design and Implement High-Quality, Collaborative Youth Work Programs: Participants will gain the skills to collaboratively design, implement, and evaluate youth work programs that meet the needs of both young people and employers, ensuring meaningful and impactful experiences for all stakeholders involved.

The convergence of STEM and CTE offer an opportunity to equip students for future success. This session will explore a groundbreaking collaboration aimed at preparing high school students for careers in emerging technology career fields. The partnership creates interconnected initiatives designed to align educational outcomes with the skills needed for in-demand career pathways. By sharing best practices, the session aims to inspire attendees to pursue cross-sector collaborations.

Full Description:
This session will provide an in-depth look at a collaborative effort between the Minnesota STEM Ecosystem, the MN State Engineering Center of Excellence, and High Tech Kids. Funded by a single grant opportunity, this partnership focuses on expanding competitive robotics, providing internships in emerging technology career fields, and introducing students to in-demand careers through a LEAN module-based curriculum. Participants will gain insights into how these initiatives are integrated to create a cohesive program that aligns educational outcomes with workforce needs. The discussion will cover the successes and challenges faced in implementing these initiatives, particularly in reaching and engaging underserved populations.

The session will also provide a platform for exploring how similar cross-sector collaborations can be developed and implemented. Attendees will leave with practical knowledge and inspiration to initiate or enhance their own efforts in aligning educational outcomes with workforce development, ultimately contributing to the preparation of students for high-wage, high-skill careers in emerging technology fields.

•Robotics Expansion and Support: Led by High Tech Kids, this initiative focuses on expanding competitive robotics across the state, especially in rural and underserved communities. By providing resources, mentorship, and support, this effort not only introduces students to robotics but also fosters essential in-demand career skills such as coding, engineering, and problem-solving. The program is designed to be inclusive, ensuring that all students, regardless of background, have the opportunity to participate in and benefit from hands-on STEM learning.

•STEM-Based Internships: The Minnesota STEM Ecosystem is spearheading a program that offers both micro and immersive STEM internships, in cooperation with several of the education cooperatives across the state. These internships are tailored to provide real-world experience in emerging technology career areas, allowing students to apply classroom knowledge in professional settings. The focus on rural areas and underserved populations ensures that these opportunities are accessible to a wider range of students, helping to bridge the gap between education and the workforce.

•STEM Career Exploration and Employability Skill Development: The MN State Engineering Center of Excellence has developed "An Introduction to STEM Careers," a LEAN Curriculum designed as a "Train-the-Trainer" model. This curriculum equips educators, program providers and employers with the tools to teach critical workplace skills such as team-building, organization, critical thinking, and communication through activities based on LEAN principles. The curriculum not only introduces students to fundamental employability skills but also aligns these skills with in-demand careers.

You'll learn how to:

• Demonstrate the Power of Collaboration: Showcase how cross-sector collaborations between nonprofits and academic institutions can align STEM education with workforce development goals, creating stronger learning outcomes and better preparing students for future careers.
• Highlight Successes and Challenges: Discuss the successes and challenges of implementing these initiatives, particularly in reaching underserved populations and creating equitable opportunities.
• Provide Actionable Insights: Offer participants actionable insights and strategies for developing similar collaborations, emphasizing scalability and sustainability.

Target Audience:
Educators, nonprofit leaders, industry partners, policymakers, and others interested in expanding access to workforce readiness initiatives.

The Minnesota State Advanced Manufacturing Center of Excellence has partnered with Marvin (Warroad, MN) and Wells Technology (Bemidji, MN), to assist in the development of HS Internship programs, targeting Native American and rural Minnesota students. This session will review the important partnerships that have been forged between the Center, the employers, and the high schools, as well as a brief overview of the curriculum, and the credentialing the students may earn at the conclusion of the internship.

You'll learn how to: 

• Develop partnership engagement and walk away with best practices
• Identify skills and curriculum alignment to manufacturing needs
• Work with MSSC to become an MSSC testing center

Perkins legislation expects comprehensive local needs assessments to include engagement with partners most impacted by local planning. However, the methods of that engagement are left to the discretion of each consortium. How can CTE leaders maximize the input and guidance of students, educators, and industry leaders to strengthen programming?

This session will feature a dialogue on equitable engagement by Minnesota State, RealTime Talent, and session participants.

You'll be able to:

• Spark creative thinking about new approaches to engaging key community partners that influence or benefit from CTE programming.
• Activate consortia leaders to apply engagement strategies effectively and get useful results.
• Experiment with engagement openers and closers that spark collaboration and promote inclusive spaces.