Lesson from Hawaii: How CTE can develop a talented workforce to meet future economic priorities

Hawaii
Innovation


ExcelinEd and Dr. Danielle Mezera have supported Hawaii’s efforts to align state career and technical education programs with state economic priorities.


When Congress reauthorized Perkins V in 2018, they presented states with a valuable opportunity to ensure career and technical education (CTE) systems support high-quality career pathways that prepare students for success in mid/high-wage, mid/high-skill, in-demand careers in their communities.

Nearly two years later, we can see just how states are doing at this herculean task. And it looks as though Hawaii is on the verge of becoming a CTE powerhouse.

Aligning Education and Economic Goals

Recently, Hawaii has taken control of its future by creating a cutting-edge approach to CTE and aligning education-to-workforce approaches to meet the state’s economic priorities.

Hawaii’s K-12 system is unique. It is the only state that operates a unitary system, which means the state has a single school district. The Hawaii State Department of Education (HIDOE) handles state education matters while also operating and overseeing the state’s sole school district.

When it comes to CTE, this structure has been both a blessing and a curse: a blessing in that funding and directives can seamlessly flow down to all secondary schools, but a curse in that innovation and meaningful readiness have often been stymied by an overly prescriptive approach to CTE.

Like many states, Hawaii has set statewide education goals intended to support economic prosperity and future growth. The state is working to:

On the surface, these goals may not seem closely related, but they are interconnected and speak to a prevailing state focus on self-sufficiency. These ambitious scopes have also placed a spotlight on the state’s current education-to-workforce system, its priorities and approaches, and its ability to attain these goals.

For example, to date the K-12 and postsecondary education systems have taken a very limited role in preparing the next generation of Hawaiians to advance occupational fields that lead to the state meeting its sustainable energy goal. This goal alone presents a high-profile opportunity for the state’s CTE system to lead in the development of the qualified research, installation, maintenance and management of professionals needed to support this transformation over the next 25 years.

This and other economic goals have not been lost on Hawaii’s leaders. And with the advent of the state’s Perkins V state plan and its WIOA state plan, state and local educators are realizing that the current CTE system cannot meet Hawaii’s current and projected future economic priorities. Hawaii recognizes that the time is now to transform CTE to drive future economic and workforce innovation.

To that end, the Perkins V steering committee has taken essential first steps to build out the state’s CTE program to:

  1. Fully align CTE programs with Hawaii’s current and projected high-skill, high-wage/in-demand careers and economic priorities, and
  2. Strengthen CTE program quality to drive better learner outcomes across the state’s secondary and postsecondary systems.

Adopting a New K-12 Framework to Align CTE

In recent months, Hawaii’s state CTE leaders, department of education and critical partners have adopted a multi-year, K-12 framework to address existing program misalignments and put the state CTE program on track with the state’s education and economic goals.

Consider the core components being undertaken by the state in support of K-12 CTE.

Core Components of Hawaii’s K-12 CTE Transformation

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What’s Next?

For Hawaii, this transformational process is also about marshaling and leveraging existing resources and stakeholders to build a more cohesive, cross-agency approach necessary to drive the attainment of their state education and economic goals.

Though Hawaii is just starting its journey, it encapsulates how states can reimagine their state CTE programs to fully align with current and projected state economic and workforce priorities. In doing so, states can effectively promote learning experiences that are true in their advertising to learners and employers.

Learn More

Explore ExcelinEd’s CTE playbook series for specific steps to help states improve learning and outcomes for students.

Solution Areas:

College & Career Pathways

About the Author

Danielle Mezera, Ph.D., is a Senior Policy Fellow for ExcelinEd focusing on innovation policies.

Solution Areas:

College & Career Pathways