The 2022-23 school year began with Stuart Countess, CEO of KIA Manufacturing serving as the lead to guide us through the process of developing a 5-year CTAE Strategic Plan to guide our work during FY 2024 through FY 2028. Joseph Lillyblad, Workforce Development Manager for Georgia Power served as the co-lead. The process of developing the plan consisted of more than 20 listening sessions and key stakeholder interviews, 3 strategic planning committee workshops, and over 50 business, education, community, and government leaders on the steering committee.
We titled our CTAE Strategic Plan, “Career Forward Georgia: a plan for advancing career, technical, and agricultural education in Georgia”. The mission changed slightly from our previous plan and is “To provide Georgia students with high-quality educational programs, career pathways, and experiences that prepare them for workplace success.” The vision is consistent with the overall vision of the Georgia Department of Education, which is “Preparing all students for life.” Four values were considered necessary for the plan:
- Student Centered
- Employer Driven
- Career Focused
- Innovative
The four priority areas that were determined to be addressed by the CTAE Strategic Plan are:
- Prioritize Skill and Industry Alignment at the State and Local Level.
- Ensure High-Quality Career Development Support for All CTAE Students.
- Enhance Recruitment and Retention Efforts for the CTAE Workforce.
- Expand Marketing and Promotion Efforts to Enhance Stakeholders’ Awareness and Perceptions of CTAE in Georgia.
Two additional features of the Career Forward Georgia CTAE Strategic Plan involved action items and measures of success. The accomplishment of reaching each established priority depends on 3 different groups: the Georgia Department of Education CTAE, local school districts, and partners. Specific action items were identified for each of these groups to undertake for each priority. Our business partners use Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to chart their success and insisted that each of our priorities establish measures of success, so we indicated measures of success as part of the plan.
The 600,000+ Georgia CTAE students are an important part of the talent pipeline. I believe our new CTAE Strategic Plan will serve them and our business partners well from now until 2028. The new plan was introduced at the Georgia Association for Career, and Technical Educators (GACTE) summer conference.
Sincerely,
Barbara M. Wall, Ed.D.
Deputy Superintendent of Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education