Career Clusters™ and the
Louisiana Career Education Model
Louisiana Believes
Career and
Technical
Education
The Changing U.S. Workforce
Professional
20%
Professional
20%
Source: Pathways to Prosperity, Harvard, February 2011
Perspectives
Challenges Our
Students Face
• Engagement
• Achievement
• Transition
Engagement
Why Do They Leave?
50%
45%
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Boring classes
Too many absences
Peer group
Too much personal
freedom
Failing in school
Source: “The Silent Epidemic: Perspectives of High School
Dropouts” Civic Enterprises, 2006
Challenges Our
Students Face
• Engagement
• Achievement
• Transition
High School Achievement
Challenges Our
Students Face
• Engagement
• Achievement
• Transition
Challenges Our
Students Face
• Engagement
• Achievement
• Transition
Transitions from High
School
Why do we need
common state
standards for CTE?
• Consistent, highquality expectations
and rigorous programs
of study
• College and career
readiness
• Share best practices and
develop new and better
resources
LEADING CHANGE
TRANSFORMING EXPECTATIONS
MAKING THE DIFFERENCE
Kimberly Green
kgreen@careertech.org
www.careertech.org
Career Clusters™
Career Clusters™: A Bit of History
• Career Clusters™ were identified by looking
at a variety of other ‘groupings’
• Career Clusters™ are organized by common
knowledge and skills
• Career Clusters ™ began in the late 1990s
with grants from the U.S. Department of
Education to the states
Louisiana Believes
22
How Were Career Clusters™ Developed?
• Grants were made to states by the USDOE
• States working with
• National Association of State Directors of Career
Technical Education Consortium
• National Advisory Committees
•
•
•
•
Business and Industry
Labor
Government
Education (secondary and postsecondary)
developed the framework for what became the
Career Clusters™
Louisiana Believes
23
16 Career Clusters™ with Logos
CAREER CLUSTERS™:
THE MODEL
One Model for Understanding CTE
Career Clusters™
Career Pathway
Program of Study
Individual
Graduation
Plan (IGP)
Louisiana Believes
4
Louisiana Career Education
Model
Louisiana Career Education Model
Louisiana Believes
29
Career Pathway/AOC Structure
• Multiple Career Pathways/AOCs within the same
Career Cluster
• Career Pathway/AOC title reflects the career focus
• Two requirements for completion of courses
• Primary (4 credits required)
• Includes a minimum of one competency course
• Builds the foundation for the AOC focus
• Related (2 credits required)
• Supports the foundation for the AOC
• Must include one technology course
Louisiana Believes
30
Louisiana Department of Education
Individual Graduation Plan
Incoming Freshmen 2008-2009 and beyond – College and Career Diploma
Ninth Grade Entry Date:
Name: _____________________________________ Area of Concentration: ___________________________
Originating Middle School:___________________ High School Attending:__________________________
NOTE: Students may complete an Academic Area of Concentration by completing the LA Core 4 curriculum.
Career Cluster (for Career/Technical Area of Concentration only):
___ Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources
___ Arts, A/V Technology & Communication
___ Architecture and Construction
___ Business, Management and Administration
Diploma Endorsements:
Postsecondary Plans:
(Check College Catalogs for
specific entrance requirements)

___ Education and Training
___ Finance
___ Health Science
___ Hospitality and Tourism
___ Human Services
___ Information Technology
___ Law, Public Safety and Security
___ Manufacturing
___ Government and Public Administration
___ Marketing, Sales and Services
___ Science, Technology, Engineering & Math
___ Transportation, Distribution, and
Logistics
 College and Career Diploma – no endorsements
Academic Endorsement
Career and Technical Endorsement TOPS Tech Option 1
Career and Technical Endorsement TOPS Tech Option 2
 Other ______________________________________
Technical College
Technical Training
Community College
Employment
Four Year College
 Military
University
Other _________________________
Louisiana Believes
31
Health Science AOC
Career Cluster:
Health Science
Career Pathway:
Nursing
Primary Courses:
(must complete a minimum
of 4 credits)
Allied Health Services I
Anatomy and Physiology
Coop. Health Occ.
CTE Internship I
Education for Careers or
Journey to Careers or JAG
EMT Basic
First Responder
General Coop. Ed.
Health Science I, II
Intro to Emer. Med. Tech.
Intro to Health Occup.
Medical Asst. I, II, III
Medical Terminology
*Nurse Assistant
Patient Care Technician (PCT)
Students can only count one work-based learning program toward completion of primary credits.
Students must complete at least one competency course credit, as designated by an asterisk.
Students can only count one career awareness course toward completion of primary credits.
Related Courses:
(must complete a minimum
of 2 credits, one must be a
computer course credit,
unless 5 credits are
completed from the
Primary Courses and
students complete one
computer course credit)
Adv. Child Development
Advanced Math I, II
Adv. Nutrition and Food AHEC
Biology Elective
Biology II
Chemistry
Child Development
Communication Tech. I
Customer Service
Early Childhood Education
Entrepreneurship
Financial Math
Health Occupation Elect. I
Integrated Science
Intro to Bus. Comp. App.
Keyboarding
Keyboarding Apps.
Mathematics Elective
Nutrition and Food
P.E. III
Physical Education Elec.
Physics
Physics of Tech I (Voc.)
Principles of Business
Psychology
Senior Project
Sociology
Speech I, II, III, IV
All computer courses approved by BESE
All foreign language courses
Senior Project has to be related to the student’s career major and area of concentration.
Louisiana Believes
32
Career Pathway
(AOC)
Sample Careers
Minimum
Education
Therapeutic
Services-Nursing
Strand
Licensed Practical
Nurse
Postsecondary Non- $18.06/hr.
Degree Award
Registered Nurse
Associates Degree
Louisiana Believes
Average WageLouisiana
$29.19/hr.
33
Industry Based Certification(IBC)
IBC Definitions
• An IBC is tangible evidence that an individual has
successfully demonstrated skill competencies in:
• a specific set of work-related tasks,
• a single occupational area, or
• a cluster of related occupational areas as recognized by a specific
industry
• IBC Credentials issued by an industry or industry group,
verifying:
• an individual has met the skill standards established by that
industry or group and
• minimal requirements to successfully enter the workforce and
compete in that particular area have been met.
Louisiana Believes
35
Types of IBCs
• International [examples: Microsoft Office Specialist
(MOS), & T2 Safety Systems]
• National [examples: National Center for Construction
Education Research (NCCER) & Pharmacy Technician]
• State (examples: Certified Nursing Assistant & First
Responder)
Louisiana Believes
36
IBC Matrix
• IBCs approved by the Workforce Investment Council
(WIC) that are appropriate for secondary students
• Provides the following information:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
IBC Certification/Certifying Agency
Career Cluster
Student Requirements
Evidence of Certification-International, National or State
Culminating Course
Required Text (if applicable)
Teacher Certification Requirements
Teacher National and/or State Renewal Requirements
Louisiana Believes
37
IBC Focus List
• Is maintained by the Louisiana Workforce
Commission of IBCs determined by that
commission to be
• High demand occupations
• High wage jobs or occupations that lead to a career
ladder
• Widely supported and recognized by Louisiana’s industry
• Provides guidance for spending funds, for setting
up training programs, for occupations aligned with
high demand, high wage occupations in Louisiana,
and the certifications recognized by industries in
Louisiana.
Louisiana Believes
38
Criteria for Inclusion on the Focus List
According to the Workforce Investment Council,
certifications on list,
• Fit definition of an IBC
• Be a demand occupation recognized by the Louisiana
Occupational Forecasting Conference
• Be state or nationally recognized
• Have the support of at least one (1) association or
major employer in Louisiana
• Be tied to a high-wage career or lead to a career
ladder
• Be generic, not vendor-specific, except in special cases
as determined by IBC Leadership Council
Louisiana Believes
39
Louisiana Believes
40