(FRANKFORT, Ky.) – Kentucky Department of Education Interim Commissioner Wayne Lewis has announced a new campaign aimed at increasing awareness about career and technical education (CTE) careers. Known as What Will You Be, Kentucky? the campaign is collecting stories from Kentuckians about how they chose their career and what route they took to get hired.
Announced during the kickoff of the Kentucky Association of Career and Technical Education Teachers’ (KACTE) summer conference, the campaign will share the collected stories on a website, through social media and other digital outlets.
While the campaign will spotlight careers in Kentucky’s five high-demand workforce sectors – advanced manufacturing, business/IT, construction trades, healthcare and transportation/logistics – stories from all career paths will be accepted.
“For many of the jobs that continue to be open in the Commonwealth, we do not have Kentuckians with the skills to fill them. We have to do a better job as a state to help prepare students for careers with sustainable incomes,” said Lewis. “The first step in that endeavor is to familiarize Kentucky’s students with the in-demand careers that are out there.”
The first story collected is from a future electrician named Michah Schenck. Schenck, a graduate of Lloyd Memorial High School in the Erlanger-Elsmere Independent school district, joined the team at Mubea Inc. through the Tech Ready Apprentices for Careers in Kentucky (TRACK) youth pre-apprenticeship program. While in high school, he took dual credit welding and machine tool courses to give himself a leg up on the competition. You can read more about Schenck’s story on Kentucky Teacher.
What Will You Be, Kentucky? is accepting stories from the public to help students in the Commonwealth find their future careers. Whether your story is about how you achieved your career goals or you are an employer wanting to share your need for skilled workers, please email your stories to whatwillyoubeky@education.ky.gov.
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