Pub. 8 2018 Issue 2

16 AT THE CENTER OF UTAH INDUSTRY hen am I ever going to use this?” is the most common question many teachers hear from their high school students. Nearly all of us can relate. But, Riley McCleary saw things differently as he entered his senior year at Hunter High School. “I got involved in my high school CTE programs and chose to focus on manufacturing with an internship lined-up with a company while I was still in high school,” said Riley. “It was awesome because it opened my eyes to jobs that I may not have considered before, and I knew that what I was studying in school could be applied to a career immediately!” Career and Technical Education, CTE, are those classes that prepare students with the skills and knowledge companies want and need in the workforce. CTE courses are generally elective classes, so right from the start students are more engaged in their education because they “chose” something they are interested in studying. Ask any student what they don’t like about school and they routinely say they don’t think it applies to their future careers. When asked what they want from students graduating from both high school and college, business leaders emphatically indicate they want students who can apply what they’ve learned to real world situations. Career and technical education courses have proven to bridge that gap while improving overall core education results. CTE courses transform common education subjects into career-focused learning opportunities. Math comes alive while “WHEN AM I EVER GO HOW YOU CAN HELP UTAH STUDENTS AND BY EDSON BARTON W “