Assistance sources and training for dropouts
Chapter 13 Preparing for Work
Things to Remember
The many options open to American workers to attain the education and training they need prior to employment
The magnitude of the high school dropout problem and sources of assistance and training for dropouts
The major sources of financial aid for postsecondary education and how it can be located
It is common knowledge that there is a positive relationship between the educational level attained and lifetime earnings. To be sure, a tackle in the National Football League makes more than the orthopedic surgeon that reconstructed his broken arm, and rock stars make more money than almost everyone else. It is also the case that educational attainment is not accompanied by a written guarantee that the completion of a bachelor’s degree comes with a written guarantee of employment or, if graduates are able to land a job, a salary that guarantees a comfortable lifestyle. College graduates are very often underemployed, which in plain English means that they make less money than their educational attainment would lead them to expect. What is more, many college graduates cannot find jobs at all. The fact is that many people who graduate from college make poor occupational choices that offer little opportunity after graduation.
Preparing for work begins with choosing a job that suits the individual’s talents, followed by getting the best possible education or training for that job. Phase two of the path to employment requires the development of job acquisition skills: locating, contacting, interviewing for, and negotiating for the best offer. Occupational choice is the beginning. Accepting a job is a midpoint. Continuing to improve one’s skills and continuing in a lifelong search completes the process.
Education is often touted as the road out of poverty, but there is increasing doubt that our schools are up to setting poor people on the right path. Some believe that our educational institutions, particularly our public K to 12 schools, are rapidly becoming second-class institutions that serve our society poorly. They point to National Educational Assessment Program data that compares U.S. students with those in other developed countries via standardized test results to support their case. The bottom line is that typical American students do less well than students in other countries, but that is not the entire story. Jerry Trusty and I (Brown & Trusty, 2005) reviewed the data and came to a different conclusion: Our schools are failing poor white and minority students to the greatest degree. If that conclusion is correct, our goal of helping marginalized groups attain economic equity is, at best, difficult.
As a career counselor, you have two tasks to perform. First, familiarize yourself with the educational opportunities that are available to your clients and teach them how to negotiate the system to prepare themselves for a high-quality occupation. Second, advocate for better schools, colleges, and training programs for the adolescents and adults in this country. The information in this chapter will set you on the path to the knowledge you need to perform these tasks.
Training Time
Training time can be divided into two broad types: general education and specific vocational preparation. The first includes all the general academic preparation that develops reasoning and adaptability, decision-making skills, the ability to understand and follow directions, and the ability to work cooperatively with others. It also includes the development of basic educational skills, such as mathematics, language usage, reading, and writing. Acquisition of these skills starts no later than an individual’s first day of kindergarten and, in most cases, many months earlier. To the general education requirements, I would add foreign language skills. The global job market requires workers to have the ability to read, write, and speak the language of the country in which they are employed. It is already the case that many jobs in this country require the ability to speak Spanish, because many of the workers and the clients of the businesses are of Hispanic origin and have limited ability to speak English. Although much general education is acquired outside of the classroom and supplements the school curriculum, most is learned in school.
Specific vocational preparation is training directed toward learning techniques, knowledge, and skills needed for a specific job and situation. In general, an individual becomes concerned with obtaining specific vocational preparation after a tentative career decision has been made and the person recognizes (usually in the planning period) that she or he must acquire certain skills and knowledge to implement the decision.
Every occupation requires some combination of these two types of preparation. Continued attendance in public or private secondary school typically enhances the development of a student’s general educational development. However, specific vocational preparation is often gained outside of K to 12 schools, although there are exceptions for students who choose to pursue a vocational curriculum. For these students, preparation for work is included in the high school program. Other students may leave school prior to graduation and enter a training program in a community college, vocational technical school, or as an OJT trainee. On-the-job training is typically the route followed by high school dropouts and graduates who choose not to pursue some form of postsecondary education. Many high school graduates do elect a postsecondary educational route that may or may not include a college degree, a graduate program, or some form of professional education.
It is important to note that students who do decide not to complete high school increase the likelihood of sustained periods of unemployment and lower wages when they are employed. Statistics indicate that 857 students drop out of school every hour of every school day. About one quarter of all students and four in ten minority students do not graduate from high school. (Krache, 2012). Although the factors that lead students to leave school before they graduate are many, a well-developed career development program that begins as early as sixth grade can reduce the dropout rate. Well-designed programs can answer the question, “Why do I have to learn this stuff?”—a question that has to be answered for many students if they are to be kept in school.
High School and Preparation for Work
Preparing high school students to enter the labor market has been a longstanding concern in this country. In contrast to some European countries, students in the United States are not tracked into college and noncollege options based on test scores and grades. The U.S. approach has the advantage of not foreclosing educational and career options prematurely. The disadvantage of the system is that when students complete their secondary schooling many have difficulty making the transition to work. One legislative effort, the School-to-Work Opportunities Act (STWOA) of 1994, was developed to address this concern. This legislation provides money to schools to develop instructional programs based on both academic and occupational standards; to provide opportunities to all students to engage in work-based learning, including work experience, mentoring, and apprenticeships; and to provide what are termed connecting activities, which develop links between the workplace and schools. The STWOA has been reinforced by several other pieces of legislation, including the amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004, the Goals 2000: Educate America Act, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, and the National Skills Standards Act of 1994. There are several implications related to these acts:
School-to-work (STW) activities may begin as early as kindergarten.
Students with disabilities must have STW transition plans as a part of their individualized education programs (IEPs).
Coordination of school activities with other agencies is required.
Work-based learning should be a part of the program.
Employers should be involved in the design and implementation of the program.
Career exploration and counseling are an integral part of the program, and students involved in the program must choose a career major no later than grade 11.
In North Carolina, middle school students complete a plan for their four-year course of study that is intended to lead to one of four options: college or university, postsecondary education to include technical careers or college (tech-prep), occupational education, or nondiploma. Although vocational education programs may not be included in every high school, such programs may be offered at specialized schools in the district. In addition to vocational education, some schools offer a variety of work experience programs that directly address the need to prepare high school graduates for the workforce. The school-to-work initiative was not intended to supplant these approaches, which are discussed in next section in some detail. However, STW was intended to address a concern that schools often ignore, the transition from school to work.
Vocational Education
Vocational education programs were formally established in the United States during World War I and have received continuing support since then. Such programs offer specific vocational
