Does Agricultural Education Do School-to-Career Education?

The strategic plan for Agricultural Education identifies our mission as preparing students for successful careers and a lifetime of informed choices in the global agriculture, food, fiber and natural resources system. Many of America's young adults leave school unequipped with skills they need to perform in today's modern, competitive world economy. These young adults often flounder in post secondary education and/or the labor market, wasting a decade or more in intermittent, low-paying jobs. Due to the lack of academic, technical, and workplace skills, employers are having difficulty finding employees who are adequately prepared for today's more demanding technical jobs, creating a crisis in the employment market. In answer to this crisis Agricultural Education is placing more emphasis on Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAE) and classroom - laboratory - employment interactions. As a profession, agricultural education professionals are committed to providing all students with the opportunity to acquire knowledge, skills, and abilities that will lead to success in their continued education and careers through: * Relevant education that allows students to explore different careers and see what academic and technical skills are required for success. * Essential skills that are obtained from structured classroom, laboratory and work-based learning experiences. In visiting several schools over the past year, I have observed what agricultural educators are doing to enhance relevant experiences and develop essential skill building experiences for students. Many of these programs have a similar appearance that focuses on the student while enhancing the technical skills needed in agriculture. These programs provide students the opportunity to explore various new visions of agriculture and the newer occupations related to the industry of agriculture. One example is a program that explores various aquaculture industry occupations from raising salmon, steelhead, and trout to catfish and Koi. Several of these programs have now established school placement and internships for students to get real work-based experience while learning in the classroom. These teachers have fostered a relationship with Fish and Game Departments and Wildlife Commissions who not only assist in work placement but also provide the equipment and feed to reduce costs to the local program and school. Other programs have developed a working relationship with business and industry to allow students to learn and develop skills while earning wages. Many of these programs are short term placements where students rotate between two to four chosen placements during the semester. At the same time students are required to maintain their other class assignments and projects. …