Stress on Apprenticeships in CCSD Long Overdue

As reported by Lowcountry Source, last week CCSD Superintendent Postlewait met with a representative from Trident Tech and a constituent board member from Mt. Pleasant at Panera Bread in North Charleston. Under discussion was the need to focus on "career readiness" for district high school students. 

In particular, Traci Combs of Trident Tech's Continuing Education and Economic Development program stressed that guidance counselors must make parents more aware of "the opportunities available in manufacturing, with local companies like Boeing and Volvo paying very high salaries for production workers.  The TTC Continuing Education department has placed more than 100 current students in apprenticeship programs.  Many of them will will wind up getting hired by the companies they apprentice for after they have completed their training."

Present numbers of apprenticeships are discouraging. Postlewait reported that "In August 2017 before the current school year began, 25 CCSD students signed letters committing them to pursuing apprenticeships, although only six were from high poverty schools.  Garrett, the district’s vocational magnet school, only had one student enrolled in an apprenticeship program."

Those disgraceful numbers wouldn't be lower if students had to seek out those programs for themselves! 

"Roger O’Sullivan, a board member for Constituent District Two schools in Mt. Pleasant and Sullivan’s Island, . . . suggested a partnership with the Dorchester Career and Technology Center in Summerville.  Internships, apprenticeships and job shadowing are required to be offered to high school students according to the state Education and Economic Development Act (EEDA)."

Whatever works.