By Dr. Gladys I. Cruz
District Superintendent
Questar III BOCES
One year ago, the unemployment rate in New York State was near 9 percent. Today, Columbia County is tied for the lowest rate in the state at 2.2 percent and Greene County is at 3 percent, according to a report released by the State Labor Department on January 25.
While the economy has recovered over the past year, we remain in one of the most unusual job markets of recent memory, with an ongoing labor shortage impacting many companies and industries. Some of you feel this shortage at work while others may see it with empty shelves at the grocery store, businesses reducing hours or modifying operations, delayed shipment of goods, or canceled flights or other transportation.
According to the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE), the state’s economy is experiencing a skills gap. Approximately 49 percent of the state’s jobs require skills training – more education than high school but less than a four-year degree – yet only 37 percent of the state’s workers are trained at this level.
Skilled trade vacancies have been the hardest to fill in the U.S. for several years. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, many of the skilled occupations have median ages above 45, which underscores the importance of preparing a new pipeline of skilled workers.
This is where Questar III BOCES supports students, employers, and the local economy alike. Locally, high school students learn technical skills in more than two dozen programs offered at our Columbia-Greene Educational Center in Hudson, Durham School, and other locations across the region.
These programs – known as career and technical education (CTE), Career Studies or New Visions – are among the more than 275 shared programs/services Questar III offers to school districts in the twin counties (and beyond).
This month, we celebrate the power of these hands-on programs as part of CTE Month, along with other observances including Black History, American Heart Month and President’s Day.
Questar III is proud to be home to programs ranging from aviation to welding. Students leaving our programs go onto college or enter high skill, high demand, and high wage positions in a wide range of fields. This includes health care, information technology, construction, manufacturing, and hospitality and management, just to name a few.
Programs are aligned with the regional labor market and result in credentials and experiences that help students get jobs and go on to post-secondary education. Students also participate in work-based learning, or structured work-related learning experiences that includes job shadowing and internships.
CTE programs are taught by professionals with hands-on experience and knowledge in their content or technical area. This may include a chef that cooked at well-known restaurants, a criminal justice instructor that previously worked in law enforcement, or instructors that owned local businesses employing others.
These programs consult with committees of business, industry, and higher education. These leaders advise us on curriculum, trends in the trades, and technologies so we can be responsive to school, economic and workforce needs.
In fact, we may launch, or revise programming based on these needs. This fall, we will launch a new Agriculture Science program at the Durham School, which has been home to a Heavy Equipment program for 3.5 years. Last fall, Questar III also launched a New Visions: Homeland Security, Cybersecurity, Emergency Preparedness, and Informatics program in partnership with the University at Albany.
Students in our Heavy Equipment, Construction Technology, HVAC, and Welding programs can participate in a Youth Apprenticeship Program – only the second of its kind in the state. During their junior and senior years of high school, students are matched with our business partners for job shadowing, a paid internship, and interviews.
Each year, almost 100 percent of seniors graduate high school. Students also earn, on average, the highest technical endorsement rates in the state. To achieve this, students must earn 22 credits, pass five required Regents exams, and pass a culminating exam that tests skills in their chosen area of study. This three-part technical assessment – held each May – includes written, demonstration and project components.
I want to thank our partners in business, industry, labor, higher education, government, and public education for working with us to offer these programs. While we celebrate the successes of CTE this month, it is something we celebrate year-round as our students earn a jump start on their futures, learning life-changing skills and obtaining college credits and scholarships.
This column appeared in the Register Star and The Daily Mail newspapers.
