Giving Compass' Take:

• The author suggests that edtech can help students with career readiness if K12 schools implement online courses early on for younger students to start planning. 

• How will edtech disrupt the traditional school curriculum model? 

• Read about edtech tools that will connect students. 

Retiring baby boomers, a technology skills gap, and less career-prepared students are cause for concern in today’s rapidly changing workplace and emerging gig economy. As employers are scrambling to find candidates with the skills they need to fill jobs that didn’t even exist five years ago, it is clear that career technical education (CTE) has not kept pace with today’s workforce demands.

There is clearly a disconnect between what schools are offering and what employers need, and the skills gap continues to grow as a result. To fix this we need to deliver more career pathways to more students, at an earlier age. We can do this by leveraging innovative technology across a national infrastructure.

All students—whether they plan to continue their education after high school graduation or not—should begin exploring pathways and developing the skills needed for in-demand careers during middle and high school.  Beyond preparing students for careers with good wages and job security, this also motivates them to perform better academically.

Online career training programs can allow high school students the opportunity to attend an online high school or to supplement their brick and mortar high school education with specific career training that prepares them for certification exams, allows them to earn credentials, or enables them to pursue dual-enrollment college degrees.

Today students can now learn technical skills online, from anywhere, thanks to new technologies including virtual reality and artificial intelligence. For example, we can provide students with exposure to industry experts through live mentoring sessions, use virtual reality to offer 3-D anatomy and physiology tools to aid in healthcare education, and deploy learning tools to allow to enable students to practice coding and software development.

K12 has started a similar model through its 13 Destinations Career Academies and Programs. Combined, these schools currently offer more than 180 career-oriented courses focused on pathways, including business administration, information technology, healthcare, advanced manufacturing, and agriculture.

Read the full article about how edtech can help with career readiness by Shaun E. McAlmont at InsideSources