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Career and Technical Education (CTE) prepares individuals for high-skill, in-demand employment that furthers Illinois’ global competitiveness. Last year, about half of all Illinois community college graduates earned a CTE degree or certificate. CTE programs offer flexible scheduling, work-based learning, and stackable credentials that provide a pathway from education to employment not only for recent high school graduates, but also for returning adults, veterans, and workers wanting to update their skills. To ensure that students acquire the skills and knowledge they need to be successful, programs contextualize instruction to the application of skills in the workplace and offer access to state-of-the-art technology. Student success in CTE programming is amplified by academic support services, work-based learning opportunities, and business engagement. CTE’s reach in Illinois’ workforce continues to be expansive; currently, there are over 4,000 different CTE program offerings across the community college system.
Lincoln Trail College is joining with other community colleges in Illinois in celebrating CTE Month. “CTE Month is an important reminder of the significance of developing the workforce, the vocations, and the career-oriented workforce that is needed in this country,” said Lincoln Trail College President Dr. Zahi Atallah. “Our country needs people for all sorts of careers, from factory to agriculture to business and industry in general.”
LTC Dean of Instruction Brent Todd says career and technical education serves as a big part of what community colleges do, and that’s no different at Lincoln Trail. “We have our traditional students that are transferring to universities, but we also have many students right here at LTC that go directly into the workforce upon graduation.”
One of the advantages of career and technical education is that students receive lots of hands-on education according to Todd. He says students in LTC’s different programs get a chance to do some of the same things they’ll do when they begin their careers. Todd says in some cases, they’ll use the same tools and equipment they’ll use in the field while in other cases, they’ll be able to use simulators to perform jobs in a learning environment.
Atallah says one of the things students can expect is to have a quick pathway to a fulfilling career. “Our programs are intended to be a quick path to employment. You won’t need to spend years and years in school just to get basic training. We’ll prepare you to get an entry-level job for which you’re training and qualified. This includes things like certification and licensing exams.”
Todd says LTC’s programs strive to keep up with the demands of industry. “One of the things that’s great about our career and technical education programs is we work hand-in-hand with industry to make sure what we’re teaching are the skills that these employers need now. Our advisory councils provide feedback on our programs as to what we need to incorporate, and we make changes based on what the industry wants.”
Projections show that areas seeing the most demand for employees in the coming years are in career and technical careers. “There was a big buzz in the 80s about people going to college and then it moved into a STEM buzz,” said Atallah. “The US is still the leading manufacturer in the world and the leading IT country in the world and the leading health care country in the world. We need those workforces and we need individuals coming into the workforce. LTC is a great place to serve as a springboard for all people.”
