Today’s high school students have more career paths to choose from than any other generation in history. For years, parents, teachers, and guidance counselors steered students toward college to earn a four-year degree before entering the job market. However, college isn’t always the right choice for a student.
Thanks to years of effort by manufacturers, many students now realize that entering the workforce straight out of high school is a viable option. Not only can they make good money right from the start, but they can also avoid tens of thousands of dollars in student loans.
In addition to skills they can acquire in modern career and technical education (CTE) programs in high school, students can also pursue apprenticeships with on-the-job training, as well as microcredentials from a national organization like the Smart Automation Certification Alliance (SACA).
In a recent article on The 74 website, author Kerry McDonald profiles high school student Chase Buffington, a senior currently working as a paid apprentice for a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) company.
According to McDonald, “Buffington is representative of a growing number of young people, especially men, who are eschewing a college degree for alternatives, such as apprenticeships, entrepreneurship, and microcredentialing.”
Connor Boyack, president of apprenticeship preparation and placement program Praxis, agrees that “the future of postsecondary pathways lies in creating more opportunities for teenagers and young adults to explore their interests and gain career-related skills and knowledge outside of a conventional college classroom.”
Author, professor, and workforce development advisor Kathleen deLaski offers advice for the modern workplace: “Employers beyond the trades need to consider apprenticeship and they need to provide certifications in a broader number of fields so that learners can demonstrate skills mastery without a degree.” Likewise, high schools, colleges, and universities would do well to consider how they will “respond to the changing preferences of a young workforce.”
Whether you’re a high school or college instructor or an industrial hiring manager, it can be difficult to switch gears to respond to new trends, like the growing popularity of apprenticeships and microcredentialing. Fortunately, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. SACA has worked closely with industry leaders to craft a wide variety of microcredentials that reflect the hands-on skills that industry needs.
Smart automation technologies are vital parts of many major industries. These industries need highly skilled workers to fill thousands of open positions, and employers need to know that potential employees have the skills they need to hit the ground running.
That’s why SACA’s microcredentials were developed with input from a combination of industry and educational experts. Guided by their expertise regarding the skills and competencies needed for today’s smart manufacturing workforce, SACA has been able to create nationally recognized, occupation-driven microcredentials for numerous industrial topic areas. If workers possess a certification from SACA, employers can feel confident they’ve already proven they have the knowledge and hands-on skills needed for working with advanced smart automation technologies. So be sure to check out SACA and all it has to offer!
