Fuel Education (FuelEd) has launched Career Readiness Pathways, a blended and online program for career and technical education.
The program includes four “Career Clusters,” including business management and administration, health science, information technology, and manufacturing. Courses for the four career pathways are included in each cluster, offering schools the ability to provide a number of various pathways for students to follow. The pathways allow students to learn the skills necessary to successfully complete industry-recognized certifications, including A*S*K and Microsoft Office, certified nursing assistant and certified pharmacy technician, CompTIA and Adobe certifications, and NIMS Computer Numerical Control Machine Operator Certification and MSSC Certified Production Technician Certification.
In addition, students preparing for the ACT National Career Readiness Certification and the National Occupational Competency Testing Institute exams also receive support. Career exploration services and a referral for the school to SkillsUSA are also included, allowing students the ability to begin their own careers and technical student organization chapters for networking, writes Joshua Bolkan for The Journal.
“Giving students choices about their future empowers them to take charge of their education,” said Gregg Levin, Fuel Education’s general manager, in a prepared statement. “With Career Readiness Pathways, students who may have never had a clear vision for their future can graduate high school with a diploma and an industry certification — and have the choice to start a career directly out of school or pursue a college education. It’s opening doors for students to have better lives after graduation.”
The Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce reports that by 2020, 65% of all jobs in the United States will require a post-secondary education or additional training beyond completing high school. As a result of this, many high schools are choosing to focus on comprehensive career and technical education (CTE) rather than on vocational technology programs in an effort to better prepare students for college as well as careers. FuelEd believes the new Career Readiness Pathways will help schools in their efforts.
Online and blended learning models allow schools the capability to transform or expand CTE offerings in a quick, affordable, and complete way. The pathways can be implemented using teachers already employed within the schools, or FuelEd can provide highly qualified, certified instructors either full or part-time at an additional cost. Both a four-year comprehensive program and an accelerated program are offered in order to allow students the option of beginning a pathway as late as the 11th grade and still being on track for certification by graduation.
Fuel Education works with schools districts to provide a personalized learning experience for students, making way for innovative solutions that allow classrooms to implement online and blended learning programs successfully. The Personalized Learning Platform, PEAK, allows teachers the ability to customize courses using their own content, FuelEd courses and titles, third-party content, and open educational resources.
The company has an extensive catalog of digital curriculum, certified instruction, professional development, and educational services.
