Program Need

Globalization and technological change are transforming national economies and the skills needed in the workforce. All industrialized countries have come to realize that the only real sources of competitive advantage in a global economy are the skills of their workers, and all are attempting to increase those skills. The ability of the United States to maintain a dominant position will depend, to a considerable extent, on whether it can prepare workers who can learn and adapt to the continually changing demands of a world economy.

Career technical and adult education (CTAE) is also undergoing an important transformation. Once the realm of job-specific training programs for disadvantaged youth and adults, CTAE is broadening its scope to provide career-focused education within industry clusters for secondary and postsecondary learners. Career technical and adult education programs are also being held accountable for increasingly high expectations that cross academic, technical, and employability standards. Given these trends, workforce education needs to enhance the leadership capability of emerging leaders and enable them to identify what constitutes outstanding practices, document how these practices help secondary and postsecondary students achieve at higher levels, and recognize high quality efforts.

Ohio's long history of being a strong leader in career and technical education needs to continue. As a state, it plays an important role in preparing leaders for the career technical and adult education system in Ohio. The Office of Career-Technical and Adult Education has taken a solid step in assuring the Ohio CTAE system has leadership to move educational attainment and workforce development forward by focusing an initiative to create a pool of visionary leaders.