Preparedness of Career and Technical Education Students in the IT Field: Is Wake County Public School System Ignoring a Great Employment Opportunity For Their Students?

Abstract

Information Technology is one of the fastest growing fields in regards to career vacancies, so why is the Wake County Public School System not taking advantage of an opportunity to prepare their students for these in-demand jobs? The Wake County Public School System's Career and Technical Education high school programs reach over 40,000 students a semester. Only a small portion of that population is pursuing a course of instruction that prepares for employment opportunities in the Information Technology field. The job market for Wake County and the surrounding counties is filled with Information Technology opportunities, so why isn't Wake County Public School System preparing their students to fill the vacancies? The goal of Career and Technical Education is to prepare students for high paying, highly skilled, and highly-demanded career possibilities. Information Technology is one field that fits this description. CTE has shown the importance of the field by creating a branch aptly named Business and Information Technology Education, but how much of this department is actually geared toward the IT field? The county enrollment practices are a mismatch for the current available jobs in the local area. The Wake County Public School System has a very small portion of students who enroll in their Information Technology courses even though it is one of the bigger needs in the job market. In some cases school are not offering any IT courses for the students, which is a large population of students who are never extended the opportunity to jump into a field within which they would have a great chance to become employed. With a plethora of IT companies that exist in the Triangle Area it seems that the Wake County Public School System would be able to work with employers to help develop a program that would effectively provide skilled employees for the businesses. The companies lack of involvement in the IT area of Wake County Public School System's BITE department shows disconnect between the employers and the school system. How feasible is it for the school system to create their own curricula that will prepare their students for these local and in demand job opportunities? Some of the IT curricula dates back as far as 1997. Most of the curricula were created within a year of 2005. Information Technology is an ever changing field and the curricula must address the changes or it is not meeting the needs of its students. The curriculum is not up-to-date enough to provide the students with a relevant education in the field. This research takes a look at solutions to this problem. The issues that limit Wake County Career and Technology will be discussed.