Technical education got a couple pieces of good news this week.
On Wednesday, state Superintendent Elizabeth Burmaster addressed the first meeting of her State Superintendent's Technology and Engineering Education Advisory Council, whose goal it is to ensure that technology and engineering remain a vital part of PK-12 education in the state.
Yesterday, the Wisconsin Technical College System released the Longitudinal Follow-Up Study. It showed growth in earnings by Wisconsin's technical college graduates was nearly twice the rate of inflation over the past five years.
Wisconsin's 13 technical colleges play a vital role in state education. Blackhawk Technical College (BTC) in Monroe and Janesville served almost 14,000 students in 2005-2006.
Burmaster's council is meant to ensure that students receive quality technology and engineering education before even reaching the technical college level.
"Collaboration between businesses and education is crucial to our efforts to provide a high-quality education to all of your students," Burmaster said. "This advisory council will support those collaboration efforts and ensure that our high school students are graduating with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in postsecondary education, the workplace and as citizens of our 21st century global society."
The council will provide recommendations for strengthening and growing the state's technology and engineering education programs. Its recommendations will strengthen alignment with postsecondary education, like technical colleges, and build industry partnerships to support technology and engineering education.
That means many students will be ahead of the game when they enter BTC or any other two-year school.
A recent report by the Center on Wisconsin Strategy details an education and training gap in the state with shortages of skilled workers in the health care, manufacturing, information technology and construction industries.
BTC gears many of its programs toward these areas.
Across the state, nine of every 10 technical college graduates is employed in Wisconsin. Locally, 96 percent of BTC's graduating class seeking employment had jobs within six months. More than 78 percent got jobs directly related to their training.
Blackhawk Tech grads earn an average entry-level salary of $11.03 to $15.52 an hour.
Not only are the jobs generated by a BTC education of good quality, they are vital to the success of business and industry in Wisconsin.
And now that a council is in place to ensure high school students are exposed to technology and engineering education sooner, the economic rewards a technical college education leads to are even greater.
On Wednesday, state Superintendent Elizabeth Burmaster addressed the first meeting of her State Superintendent's Technology and Engineering Education Advisory Council, whose goal it is to ensure that technology and engineering remain a vital part of PK-12 education in the state.
Yesterday, the Wisconsin Technical College System released the Longitudinal Follow-Up Study. It showed growth in earnings by Wisconsin's technical college graduates was nearly twice the rate of inflation over the past five years.
Wisconsin's 13 technical colleges play a vital role in state education. Blackhawk Technical College (BTC) in Monroe and Janesville served almost 14,000 students in 2005-2006.
Burmaster's council is meant to ensure that students receive quality technology and engineering education before even reaching the technical college level.
"Collaboration between businesses and education is crucial to our efforts to provide a high-quality education to all of your students," Burmaster said. "This advisory council will support those collaboration efforts and ensure that our high school students are graduating with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in postsecondary education, the workplace and as citizens of our 21st century global society."
The council will provide recommendations for strengthening and growing the state's technology and engineering education programs. Its recommendations will strengthen alignment with postsecondary education, like technical colleges, and build industry partnerships to support technology and engineering education.
That means many students will be ahead of the game when they enter BTC or any other two-year school.
A recent report by the Center on Wisconsin Strategy details an education and training gap in the state with shortages of skilled workers in the health care, manufacturing, information technology and construction industries.
BTC gears many of its programs toward these areas.
Across the state, nine of every 10 technical college graduates is employed in Wisconsin. Locally, 96 percent of BTC's graduating class seeking employment had jobs within six months. More than 78 percent got jobs directly related to their training.
Blackhawk Tech grads earn an average entry-level salary of $11.03 to $15.52 an hour.
Not only are the jobs generated by a BTC education of good quality, they are vital to the success of business and industry in Wisconsin.
And now that a council is in place to ensure high school students are exposed to technology and engineering education sooner, the economic rewards a technical college education leads to are even greater.
