Jill Schramm/MDN Jersy Burgess arranges a blanket over a mannequin during a certified nursing assistant class at Minot High School Sept. 26. CNA training is among the career and technical education programs offered through Minot Public Schools.

Editor’s Note: This is the fourth installment in a five-part series.

There is plenty of interest in career and technical education, but the challenge is in bringing those opportunities to rural areas, according to North Dakota CTE Director Wayde Sick, Bismarck.

Through federal COVID-19 funding and state funds, about $120 million became available to expand or build career and technology centers for 13 projects, including the high school programs in Minot, Sick said.

“With the additional dollars we received for additional career and technology centers around the state, I think a trend or opportunity we have is providing broader opportunity to students, no matter where they may be living in the state of North Dakota. I think our students are very fortunate that they have great career and technical education programs, no matter where they are. But what we want to try to accomplish is provide access to every program available to every student so that they have an understanding of what the state has to offer with career opportunities, so that they can make an educated decision prior to exiting high school on what their career path may look like,” he said.

There are some pockets of the state that are doing a phenomenal job in providing different opportunities, although more could be offered with energy careers, he said. Opportunity gaps are more geographic because of North Dakota’s rural nature, he said.

“A small school may not be able to scale a program because they just don’t have the student body, can’t find the instructor,” he said. “If we’re able to scale them through partnerships across multiple school districts, which is really what a CTE center does, then we can really start providing a lot of very diverse opportunities.”

Part of the grant program for CTE was the requirement for a post-secondary partner, Sick said.

“What we’re seeing is some of these CTE centers are inviting higher education into their doors to provide some post-secondary education as well, or even some workforce training,” he said. An example is the Bakken Area Skill Center. Watford City doesn’t have a post-secondary institution, but through partnerships with community colleges, it is offering a post-secondary component in its programs, he said.

The goal is to do more of that and use CTE facilities to serve high school students and adults, he said.

“So instead of duplicating what may be available, can you work together and commingle to allow that to happen? I think the funding is probably there. We have dollars that come from our agency to support Career and Technical Education programs at the high school level primarily. But there’s also a formula in our university system that reimburses or pays the colleges for college credits that’s awarded. So, I think the dollars are there. It’s just getting in the room together and talking about the opportunities that a partnership could offer,” Sick said. “Those conversations are happening.”

Lisa Johnson, vice chancellor of student and academic affairs with the North Dakota University System, acknowledged the partnerships occurring with local colleges or universities. Through simulation, some colleges and universities also have been able to offer CTE courses through a remote or a virtual component, she added.

One of the biggest challenges has been the startup cost of a CTE program, Johnson said. Another challenge when offering high school CTE courses for college credits is maintaining the college level course rigor and demonstration of proficiency, she said.

Sick said enrollment in high school CTE courses is relatively strong. About 75% to 79% of students over the past six years have enrolled in a CTE course.

“Around 30% of our students are taking at least two courses in the same pathway. And that’s an area where I think we could definitely grow,” he said.

If a student takes at least two full courses in the same pathway, about 90% will pursue that area in the workforce or in higher education, he said.

Students are seeing that short-term training has value and that there are chances to add to that education further into the future if they choose, Sick said.

“We are definitely seeing some great things, some innovation going on at our community colleges. And students are seeing that, and they’re definitely heading that direction,” he said. “So it’s exciting. We’re doing some really great things in North Dakota and I hope it continues.”

Wayde Sick