When I connect with leaders in the field of career readiness, I always ask them for advice about conferences to attend, books to read or which educators are on the cutting-edge of career readiness/workforce. So, when I had the opportunity to speak with one of the premier voices in workforce he noted one of my focuses should be “Community Colleges.” I informed him that I attempted to connect but was thwarted. His words resonated. He expounded about the issue of retention rates and how my quest could increase the numbers and/or offer students thoughts about career preparation.

Luckily, for me the California College Association for Occupational Education (CCCAOE) were preparing for their Spring Conference. I secured a vendor booth and rolled the dice!

The event was awesome! Many attendees dropped by my booth and funny enough they helped me improve my “Sales Pitch.” Comments such as “This is for Career and Technical Education (CTE) so when you mention occupations link them into which cluster they are connected with.” Below, I made a chart for California CTE Clusters; Each state has its own clusters and most are similar.

Careers By the People aligns tightly into CTE aka Careers & Technical Education as it views 101 occupations that break down into California CTE Career Pathways. In the book there are (4) in Agriculture and Natural Resources (7) Arts, Media, & Entertainment (1) Building & Construction Trades (14) Business & Finance (18) Education, Child Development, & Family Services (1) Energy, Environment, & Utilities (5) Engineering & Architecture (3) Fashion & Interior Design (10) Health Science & Medical Technology (3) Hospitality, Tourism, & Recreation (5) Information & Communication Technologies (6) Manufacturing & Product Design (14) Marketing, Sales, & Services (6) Public Services (3) Transportation.

Moreover, I learned that California distributes 116 community colleges into 8 regions. I had the chance to meet many of the regional directors and was informed how their region focuses on career readiness or as they say “CTE” aka Career & Technical Education.

Hopefully from my follow ups and their interest, I will get a chance to speak at a variety of community colleges to help students with career readiness/choice. Please keep in tune as I will add successes to the media page of the website and or on Linkedin.