Winter 2024 Newsletter
I am honored to have recently joined the team at NOCTI/Nocti Business Solutions and would like to extend warm New Year’s greetings to the Career and Technical Education (CTE) community. As we start 2024, the spotlight on workforce development across the nation heightens, underscoring the pivotal role of CTE in shaping the future workforce. At NOCTI/NBS, we are dedicated to fostering industry partnerships to support our mission and actively advocate for CTE efforts and outcomes. We are excited about the opportunities ahead as we continue to build a robust foundation for the future.
Taking Our Cues from Industry
Our business partners emphasize the significance of a quality assessment process and a genuine third-party approach to skills verification for their hiring and training needs. They prioritize this authentic third-party approach to ensure the credibility of skills verification. As we delve into the shifts toward skills-based hiring, it raises important questions about the impact on learning and CTE program efforts. In collaboration with other thought leaders, we plan to explore:
- Responsiveness to new and emerging fields, as well as industry sector shifts in energy, automation, and electrification driven by advancements in technology and innovative business practices.
- The promotion of flexible pathway development where learners can provide evidence, such as certifications and/or credentials of value to showcase their readiness for the workforce.
- Strategies for addressing durable skills in meaningful ways.
Voices of Educators
As our NOCTI/NBS team actively engages with and embraces the Voice of our Customer (VOC) to better envision our products and services, I am always struck by the deep commitment of CTE educators to their learners’ success and their impact on their respective occupations/fields. The personalized approach offered by CTE educators is truly a unique strength within the CTE community.
Voices from the field contribute to a set of innovation and improvement priorities, including:
- Addressing the power of performance assessment to highlight the intricacies of CTE knowledge and skills in a user-friendly, equitable, and reliable manner.
- Cultivating industry partnerships to enhance awareness of our value proposition and support recognition of student accomplishments.
- Continuing to design tools and resources that support an inclusive and equitable approach to acknowledging student learning and empowering students and teachers with data to support improvements.
Reach Out to Us!
We are excited to leverage these innovations and improvements in support of our partners across our CTE Consortium of States. Our team is committed to supporting CTE students, educators, and leaders as they provide critical learning experiences focused on developing essential occupational and career skills. We invite you to share input, ideas, and potential partnership opportunities with us at nocti@nocti.org. Together, let’s support the backbone of our national economy. Thank you for all you do for CTE and workforce development!
Kathleen McNally