What characteristics are most valued by businesses looking for new employees?
Soft skills, said 2,000 Missouri employers responsible for filling nearly 85,000 positions in 2007.
When surveyed by the Missouri Department of Economic Development, 21st century managers said they seek employees with good interpersonal skills.
Punctuality, good hygiene, good time management, the ability to acquire and utilize information, and the ability to learn new skills and solve problems were other traits which earned high marks.
At last week’s meeting of the Rolla School Board, those survey results were part of a presentation by Dr. Janece Martin, director of Vocational Programming & Career Education at Rolla Technical Institute/Rolla Technical Center (RTI/RTC).
It’s just that kind of information, she said, which educators are utilizing to create a new Career Prep curriculum.
It’s a new direction for a technical center, long considered to concentrate on hands-on skills and performance, but a welcome one, said Martin.
RTI/RTC not only hopes to offer a Career Prep program soon, she explained, the facility also plans to lead the way in the development of statewide criteria for a Career Prep certificate.
Similar to a diploma, it will be written proof of not just academic and skills achievement, but also of proficiency in the “soft skills.”
RTI/RTC is fortunate to be part of the East Central Consortium, said Martin, one of four pilot projects receiving grant money to begin implementing the program.
“We received the largest grant because we’re doing this as a consortium,” Martin told the board. Along with RTI/RTC and Rolla High School, several other local schools joined the partnership to develop the program, including Cuba, St. James (John F. Hodge), Licking, Newburg, Salem, and Steelville.
The goal for RTI/RTC, said Dr. Martin, is to have a Career Prep Certificate Program up and running by the spring of 2010.
The new program is just one aspect of four major goals listed in the school’s improvement plan for the 2008-09 school year.
The four major objectives are the same as last year, said Martin, only with the addition of higher expectations.
Last year, the school’s accomplishments included:
• A Health Science Academy with a class of 20 students;
• Earning Career Prep grant money: $15,000 for planning and $50,000 for implementation;
• Program accreditation’s in Dental Hygiene, Collision Repair, Radiologic Technology and Project Lead the Way;
• The first to put a submitted and approved 5-year Perkins Plan online;
• WorkKeys certificates awarded to 139 out of 142 students who completed courses; a rise in achievement levels.
Last year, however, while exceeding skill attainment levels, RTI/RTC students did not meet academic attainment levels. The school also lacked in the number of nontraditional student participation.
So those areas are targeted for improvement this year, said Martin; to meet both the academic and skills performance standards set by the district, state, and national tests for career education.
Recruiting new students, especially non-traditional students, is also a goal.
A non-traditional student, explained Martin, “Is an individual of the opposite gender of the predominant gender of that profession.” Examples include a female mechanic or a male nurse.
The school will also work toward additional accreditation for its Heating and Air Conditioning, Cabinet-making and Collision Repair programs, along with the development of a Career Prep program, and will work toward increase an embedded credit to help increase the number of students.
Martin told the board that although RTI/RTC faces some “real challenges,” she said it’s also an exciting time as the facility works to build on its success.
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What characteristics are most valued by businesses looking for new employees?
Soft skills, said 2,000 Missouri employers responsible for filling nearly 85,000 positions in 2007.
When surveyed by the Missouri Department of Economic Development, 21st century managers said they seek employees with good interpersonal skills.
Punctuality, good hygiene, good time management, the ability to acquire and utilize information, and the ability to learn new skills and solve problems were other traits which earned high marks.
At last week’s meeting of the Rolla School Board, those survey results were part of a presentation by Dr. Janece Martin, director of Vocational Programming & Career Education at Rolla Technical Institute/Rolla Technical Center (RTI/RTC).
It’s just that kind of information, she said, which educators are utilizing to create a new Career Prep curriculum.
It’s a new direction for a technical center, long considered to concentrate on hands-on skills and performance, but a welcome one, said Martin.
RTI/RTC not only hopes to offer a Career Prep program soon, she explained, the facility also plans to lead the way in the development of statewide criteria for a Career Prep certificate.
Similar to a diploma, it will be written proof of not just academic and skills achievement, but also of proficiency in the “soft skills.”
RTI/RTC is fortunate to be part of the East Central Consortium, said Martin, one of four pilot projects receiving grant money to begin implementing the program.
“We received the largest grant because we’re doing this as a consortium,” Martin told the board. Along with RTI/RTC and Rolla High School, several other local schools joined the partnership to develop the program, including Cuba, St. James (John F. Hodge), Licking, Newburg, Salem, and Steelville.
The goal for RTI/RTC, said Dr. Martin, is to have a Career Prep Certificate Program up and running by the spring of 2010.
The new program is just one aspect of four major goals listed in the school’s improvement plan for the 2008-09 school year.
The four major objectives are the same as last year, said Martin, only with the addition of higher expectations.
Last year, the school’s accomplishments included:
• A Health Science Academy with a class of 20 students;
• Earning Career Prep grant money: $15,000 for planning and $50,000 for implementation;
• Program accreditation’s in Dental Hygiene, Collision Repair, Radiologic Technology and Project Lead the Way;
• The first to put a submitted and approved 5-year Perkins Plan online;
• WorkKeys certificates awarded to 139 out of 142 students who completed courses; a rise in achievement levels.
Last year, however, while exceeding skill attainment levels, RTI/RTC students did not meet academic attainment levels. The school also lacked in the number of nontraditional student participation.
So those areas are targeted for improvement this year, said Martin; to meet both the academic and skills performance standards set by the district, state, and national tests for career education.
Recruiting new students, especially non-traditional students, is also a goal.
A non-traditional student, explained Martin, “Is an individual of the opposite gender of the predominant gender of that profession.” Examples include a female mechanic or a male nurse.
The school will also work toward additional accreditation for its Heating and Air Conditioning, Cabinet-making and Collision Repair programs, along with the development of a Career Prep program, and will work toward increase an embedded credit to help increase the number of students.
Martin told the board that although RTI/RTC faces some “real challenges,” she said it’s also an exciting time as the facility works to build on its success.
