CAREER CLUSTERS

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UPDATE

Entering freshmen beginning in 2009-2010 will be able to access a nationwide framework to help them better analyze their long- and short-term career goals, plan what to take in high school to begin to move toward those goals, and implement strategies for further education and work experience that will prepare them for high-skill, high-wage, high-demand careers in the 21st Century.

The Career Clusters initiative includes 16 clusters and 79 related pathways.

The States' Career Clusters Framework for Lifelong Learning updates the Career Pathways, which have been used in North Carolina for nearly a decade to organize programs of study in Career and Technical Education and provide links to related academic instruction and electives. The States' Career Clusters initiative further developed pathways to provide a national structure for this effort.

The change in North Carolina to the Future Ready Core Course of Study (pdf, 105kb) beginning with the entering freshman class in 2009-2010 provides an opportunity for North Carolina to fully join in this national initiative. In addition to meeting the requirements for College/University Preparation, students will have the opportunity to earn a four-credit concentration in a career cluster or other special interest area.

DESCRIPTION

Technological advances and global competition have transformed the nature of work. Tomorrow's jobs will require more knowledge, better skills, and more flexible workers than ever before. Tomorrow's workers must be prepared to change jobs and careers several times, continually updating their knowledge and skills.

To prepare today's students for tomorrow, schools are working to help students achieve in challenging subjects. One key approach to this goal is to provide students with relevant contexts for learning. Career clusters link what students learn in school with the knowledge and skills they need for success in college and careers.

Career clusters identify pathways from secondary school to two- and four-year colleges, graduate school, and the workplace, so students can link what they learn in school and what they can do in the future. This connection to future goals motivates students to work harder and enroll in more rigorous courses.

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