Educational Needs for Iowa's Career Field

by 2025

taken from: https://www.luminafoundation.org/files/resources/iowa-workfrce-2025.pdf

"The Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce’s analysis of industry and occupational requirements projects that by 2025, 68 percent of jobs in Iowa will require postsecondary education or training beyond high school.

The breakdown is as follows:

• 32 percent of jobs will require a high school diploma or less. These jobs tend to be largely in blue-collar(2) food service; and some healthcare support occupations. Even in these categories, however, the trend is increasingly toward upskilling, especially for blue-collar production occupations in advanced manufacturing.

• 39 percent of jobs will require at least some college (5) or an Associate’s degree. These “middle-skills” jobs may require education and training beyond a high school diploma, but not a Bachelor’s degree or above. These include Associate’s degrees, postsecondary vocational certificates, occupational licenses and professional certifications, apprenticeship programs, and some college credits. In Iowa, the breakdown of requirements for middle-skill jobs is projected to be:

> 12 percent Associate’s degrees;

> 5 percent postsecondary vocational certificates;

> 5 percent occupational licenses and professional certifications;

> 3 percent apprenticeship programs; and

> 14 percent some college credits that have market value including noncredit courses with market value.

• 21 percent of jobs will require a Bachelor’s degree.

• 8 percent of jobs will require a graduate degree. "

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SO what does this mean for HMS?

POSITIVE PIECES:

HMS High School has a well balanced educational options available to students. Our Career and Technology fields, offer Health Science (previously named Family Consumer Science, Industrial Technology, Business, and Agriculture. Within these classes we offer introductory level classes all the way to advanced levels in each area. We have a staff member licensed in MOC or Multi-level Occupational Careers, which means this staff member facilitates work study for students who are interested in many fields during their senior year.

Then we also have advanced classes in the Science field. In the Math field we offer AP Calculus where students who score well enough on an end of the year test, can get college credit. Our English department has a class called Collegebound Writing, where they practice scholarship and personal statement writing and move on to writing more college like writings. Because of all of this and a few other things, I believe HMS has strong foundation for preparing students for 2025 and beyond. Students have choices.

AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT BEING MADE:

As a district, we are currently working on doing a better job of explaining our whys behind their class choices. We have already developed some pathways to take if you want to be prepared in some Career and Technological fields. We need to further this project to include more fields and more classes.

We are using MAP from Iowa State University to help students figure out 4 year plans and colllege choices. Starting late September, HMS will be incorporating YouScience provided by AEA that will enhance students' levels of self understanding related to careers and college choices.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

HMS is moving towards the finish line in career development. This is a marathon worth racing to help ensure students' successes in the near future and beyond.