Brock Smith is the Executive Vice President of Business Development at Precision Exams and is the administrator of the Career Skills Assessment Pathway to Industry initiative. Brock has led and consulted teams in the training and education space for over twenty years and holds degrees in marketing, an MBA, and a Masters in Learning Technologies and Instructional Design from Utah State University. To learn more on how you and your company can get involved in the Pathway to Industry project email Brock at bsmith@precisionexams.com, or call 801-850-9180.
Sep 30, 2018
“Just last week, the Utah State Board of Education finalized an agreement with Precision Exams and partnered with the coalition, Industry Engaged in Education, to make it simpler for businesses to share input on education standards and the skills being taught in local high school CTE, or career and technical education, courses.”
Industry Engaged in Education Advisory Board members, Four Foods Group, has announced that they will hire any student that presents them with an earned certificate in the following offered through their state CTE courses, and delivered and awarded by Precision Exams:
Brandon Batt, Director of People Operations declared, “I will hire anyone that possesses one of these certificates if they align with our four pillars of success: Humility, Integrity, Competence, and Positivity.”
Four Foods Group currently employs 4,800 employees and operates 151 restaurants across the United States, including Kneaders Bakery and Café, Salt Lake City-based restaurant, R&R Barbecue, Mo’ Bettahs, Swig, and Arizona-based beverage chain The Soda Shop. In March 2017, Four Foods Group acquired 48 Little Caesars Pizza restaurants in Alabama and Louisiana in a $33 million deal.
https://www.fourfoodsgroup.com/
To my professional colleagues and friends. We have a rare opportunity to provide our professional insight to shape the education of our children. Partnering with the Utah State Board of Education we have developed a tool to make professional contribution quick, and easy. We need as much participation as we can get to ensure your industries are well represented in the areas below. Just visit https://rating.precisionexams.com/app/
Register, and rate the standards for any of the areas where you have expertise. I hear many professionals lament that they wish our schools taught more of what we need in industry, well, here’s your chance. This couldn’t be any easier for you to participate and lend your feedback . . . you will be heard!
Extreme Need:
Travel and tourism
Medical forensics
Medical anatomy and physiology
Biotechnology
Need:
Agricultural Science I
Agricultural Science II
Aquaculture
Natural Resource Science I
Natural Resource Science I – Semester
Natural Resource Science II
Business Law
Business Management
IB Business and Management SL 1
IB Business and Management SL 2
IB Business and Management HL 1
IB Business and Management HL 2
Entrepreneurship
Sports & Outdoor Product Design
Sports & Outdoor Product Design II
Textile Design Entrepreneurship
Apparel Design & Production I
Apparel Design & Production II
Fashion Design Studio
Fashion Design Merchandising
Advanced Fashion Design Merchandising
Biotechnology
Medical Forensics
Medical Anatomy & Physiology
Leadership Principles 1
Leadership Principles 2
Real Estate
Robotics 1
Robotics 2
CAD Architectural Design 1
CAD Architectural Design 2
CAD Architectural Design 3
Biomanufacturing 1
Materials Science
Medical Technology
Teaching as a Profession 3
Television Broadcasting 1
Television Broadcasting 2
Video Production 1
Video Production 2
Radio Broadcasting 1
Radio Broadcasting 2
Nondestructive Testing
Environmental Technician
Digital Graphic Arts Intro
Intermediate Graphic Communications
Advanced Production Graphics
Digital Print Design
Screen Printing Technology
Jewelry Fabrication
Bicycle Repair Training
Commercial & Advertising Art
Basic Film Photography
Basic Digital Photography
Advanced Commercial Photography
Design and Visual Communications
Industrial Design
Wall Street Journal
CVS, Tesla and others help educators create skills-based programs—and future job candidates
Vocational Training Is Back as Firms Pair With High Schools to Groom Workers
COVENTRY, R.I. – Gabe Schorner never considered himself a good student until he enrolled in his high school’s new welding program, where, in an industrial-style classroom, Mr. Schorner found himself enchanted by the molten metal and its bright blue glow as he molded it.
For immediate release
Contact:
Marty Carpenter
24NINE
801.971.3601
Utah education, industry leaders to address workforce needs through Career and Technical Education
SALT LAKE CITY (Aug. 9, 2018) – Leaders from a broad collection of business associations and businesses—members of the workforce development coalition Industry Engaged in Education—will utilize Career and Technical Education (CTE) offerings to provide connections and opportunities to qualified students with jobs, internships and other career opportunities in fields in which they have shown aptitude and interest.
“Utah’s economy is outperforming the rest of the country and anyone who wants a job can find a job,” said Edson Barton, president and CEO of Precision Exams, a Lehi-based company that provides CTE testing and certification for all students in Utah and most other states across the country. “But there are still so many businesses that cannot find the skilled employees they need to fill jobs that are open now and that could be created if the workforce was ready. We want to help students understand the opportunities that are there for them and help them start down a path to prosperity at the moment they realize they have the interest or the aptitude to do the things these careers require.”
Industry Engaged in Education first came together in January. Gov. Gary Herbert had declared 2018 to be the “Year of Career and Technical Education” in Utah and the members of this group sent an open letter to the governor applauding the move and declaring their support for the effort.
In the letter to the governor, the members of Industry Engaged in Education pledged to support the state’s efforts by engaging directly with CTE students across the state to provide a more authentic and appreciable understanding of careers that can result from CTE pathways, to provide endorsement and recognition of career and technical education programs from industry, and to highlight CTE careers, challenging the idea that these are inferior career options.
“It’s unfortunate that we still have to fight some misperceptions about the kinds of careers available to students who excel in CTE courses and who pursue CTE pathways,” said Todd Bingham, president and CEO of the Utah Manufacturers Association. “If you take a kid into a manufacturing facility today they will likely be surprised by just how high-tech and exciting the industry really is. And there’s a great deal of opportunity there, as well.”
The coalition currently consists of the following organizations:
Over the next several weeks, the coalition will work with policymakers to chart the best policy path forward to connect the right students to the right career opportunities, exploring the most effective ways to connect skills Utah students are most interested in developing with a path to personal career success.
“The better we help students see how the skills they learn in a CTE class can lead to an exciting career, the more motivated they are to learn and the more likely they are to connect with businesses that really need people with these skills to help their organizations grow,” said Barton. “The one issue we still need to address to make our booming state economy even stronger is the challenge businesses face finding qualified, skilled workers.”
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