• Career Readiness

    Essential Question: How can I demonstrate my career readiness?

    Our curriculum partner, ICEV, defines career readiness as "preparing students with the skills they need to find, acquire, maintain, and grow within a job."

    Â鶹¹ÙÍø prepares students for career readiness by providing the following:

    • High-quality programs of study
    • Quality curriculum, resources, and authentic experiences that allow students to practice and apply real-life job skills in high school
    • Instruction methods and systems designed to assist students in earning industry-based certifications, giving them higher income and faster job placement

    Â鶹¹ÙÍø students can demonstrate career readiness in a variety of ways. Please start exploring below.

     

  • Dual Credit

    Â鶹¹ÙÍø CTE offers dual credit courses in:

    • Aviation Maintenance
    • Advanced Animal Science
    • Accounting
    • Cisco Networking
    • Firefighter Academy

    These courses are offered at BCTAL and on location, like Alliance Airport and North Richland Hills Fire Rescue Training Facility. Tuition and some materials are paid for by Â鶹¹ÙÍø and most credits transfer to a wide variety of post-secondary programs and colleges. Contact your high school counselor for details on how to get involved.

    Â鶹¹ÙÍø is committed to increasing dual credit courses each year. Additionally, students can take dual credit English and History courses while at BCTAL campus, reducing travel time between campuses. 

    Program of Study

    TEA describes programs of study as:

    The Division of College, Career, and Military Preparation has engaged members of the workforce, secondary education, and higher education to advise on the development of programs of study, including coherent sequences of courses, industry-based certifications, and work-based learning to ensure students are prepared for in-demand, high-skill, high-wage careers in Texas.

    Â鶹¹ÙÍø is pleased to offer 26 programs of study in 13 areas, like Business, Marketing, and Finance, Human Services, and Health Science. Our students take coursework, engage in personalized, hands-on learning experiences, and prepare for industry-based certification exams. Graduates can walk away with Cisco Networking certification, Texas Cosmetology License, SafeServe, or FAA Drone Pilot License, among many others. 

    Our goal is for students to be Completers in a program of study, meaning they have taken three or more courses in a single area, with at least one course at the junior or senior level. We offer Practicum courses in every program of study, allowing students to attend aligned jobs, internships, apprenticeships, or complete an individualized research project. In addition, Â鶹¹ÙÍø matches each program to a state-selected industry-based certification, ensuring our graduates are prepared for employment immediately upon graduation. Or, if they choose, they can continue to post-secondary education, applying dual credit courses they have completed or participating in the Â鶹¹ÙÍø-Tarrant County College Scholarship, which gives students one tuition-free year at TCC.

    Industry Based Certifications (IBC)

    TEA defines IBC as:

    A certification is a validation that an individual possesses certain industry-specific skills. Industry-based certifications (IBCs) are related to a career cluster or occupation and measured against a set of accepted standards. An occupation may have multiple certifications with varying levels of expertise. An individual earns a certification by successfully completing an assessment. Certifications are validated through a certifying entity, usually an organization such as a trade association or industry-approved testing entity, not a secondary school or institution of higher education (IHE).

    Each program of study has at least one associated IBC. As students progress through coursework, each class is designed to provide the skills and knowledge necessary to attain certification. Students are given opportunities to practice skills in class (such as cleaning the commercial kitchen after preparing food or participating in community-organized vaccine and shot clinics) and to tackle mock questions to prepare for the exam. 

    Student Organizations

    Career and Technical Student Organizations (CTSOs) are co-curriculum experiences offered to students. Participation provides students:

    • Leadership opportunities by being part of campus, regional, and state boards
    • Business and industry-based competitions, which showcase depth of knowledge and presentation skills in authentic environments
    • Community service participation in canned food drives, Trunk-or-Treat, and Adopt-a-Highway
    • Opportunities to plan short- and long-term projects and collaborate with others

     

    Please visit the Â鶹¹ÙÍø CTE webpage for more information on these opportunities for students and to learn about internships, scholarships, and community partnerships.