Albuquerque’s workforce of the future will include all sorts of jobs. Leaders at the local school district are planning to fill them by having students graduate ready to work, go on to advanced training or begin postsecondary education.
Tori Shauger was hired last year as Albuquerque Public Schools’ Director of Career Connected Learning. She said her mission has been to help fulfill the district’s goal of increasing postsecondary readiness among its students. She said she rebuilt the program after studying best practices in other places.
Shauger said adults within the system already think about helping students prepare for life after high school, but APS is moving to a more collaborative model that finds a path for every student.
“I think we’ve been focused for so long on college, college, college, but never the why,” she said. “Why do I come to school? Why do I take the academic risks that I need to take to learn things that are hard?”
She said APS is exploring what the future can look like based on the needs of students and the workforce and they’re trying to meet those needs in an equitable, sustainable and efficient manner.
Shauger said the district is in the process of developing a comprehensive needs assessment that will collect data on what types of jobs are in demand and what skills will be needed in those jobs. Shauger said that information will help APS align its curricula to match those needs.
The idea, she said, is to give students the best opportunities to succeed in the workforce of the future.
Cars are a permanent fixture
One safe assumption, it may seem, is that cars and trucks will remain on the road for a while. Provided, of course, that there are workers who can keep them there.
Eldorado High School is working toward that end, with its automotive program. First-year students in the program study basics like oil changes, checking fluids and brake replacement, while advanced students get into more complicated aspects of vehicle maintenance and repairs, studying air conditioning systems, powertrains and more.
The school recently sent a team to the High School Automotive Service Technology Invitational Competition in Hobbs, where it placed second among 21 teams.
Instructor Stacey Adams said he wasn’t expecting the team to do as well, being new to the competition and facing opponents that had been there before and knew what to expect. Adams gave all the credit to the students.
“It was knowledge they had before they ever met me,” he said. “I just kind of refined it.”
Gabe Velasquez and Brom Stewart, both 16, said that Adams’ hands-on teaching style helped them succeed in Hobbs. Velasquez said class lectures are usually followed up with immediate practical applications on the lessons they concern. The school’s auto shop has a few vehicles for students to work on a stone’s throw from the classroom.
The students are considering careers in the automotive industry, and said that Adams’ long stint with Ford Motor Co. means they can benefit from his experience as they move through their careers.
‘Make them aware of opportunities’
Del Archuleta of the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce said that automotive technicians are among many well-paying positions that will need filling in the future.
He said he’s been advocating for career-oriented learning for four decades, and that its importance is growing with technological advances and the growth of the manufacturing sector in Albuquerque.
“We can’t waste time,” he said. “It’s absolutely critical if we want to compete on a world-economy basis.”
Archuleta, chairman of the chamber’s education initiative, said that the community needs to develop a system that feeds the needs of young people and the needs of the business sector.
“We have to make the youth aware that they can have a very fulfilling career in the technical trades,” he said.
Archuleta mentioned a recent interaction he had with a young man employed by a local heavy equipment sales and rental firm. He said the worker now makes $9 an hour more than his starting pay less than a year ago — the type of pay that makes one confident in starting a family and capable of feeding greater economic growth.
He said that there are many industries that will need an influx of new workers and that the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the need for those workers.
Across the district
Shauger said that APS’ career-connected learning strategy includes 16 career clusters spread among its high schools. Inside each cluster, she said are multiple pathways, each with various courses of study.
Other clusters include digital media, healthcare and hospitality and tourism.
The district also runs the downtown Career Enrichment Center, which provides specialized science, technology and vocational classes and has a specialized high school and associate degree program.
She said that having Adams as an automotive instructor has been beneficial to those students.
“He really understands the needs of the industry,” Shauger said. “And he has a strong professional network that can connect students (with opportunities).”
She said she was glad to see the Eldorado High School team succeed, as it’s rare to be able to celebrate CTE achievements, compared to other types of accomplishments.
Shauger said career-connected learning aims for the future, but also serves the present. For instance, she said research shows a 95% graduation rate among students who complete high-quality programs of study. That’s higher than any other subgroup of students.
“That’s data we should be listening to and responding to,” she said.