Topeka — A Hays businessman and key state officials want to overhaul the way Kansas does technical training.
"The output of our curriculum has to be raised to a higher standard," said Joseph Glassman, chairman of the Postsecondary Technical Education Authority and president and chief executive of Glassman Corp., the largest mechanical construction company in western Kansas.
"The status quo won't cut it," Glassman said.
His feelings are echoed by other Kansans, too.
"The goal is to standardize courses," said state Rep. Ann Mah, D-Topeka.
The problem in Kansas, according to Glassman, Mah and others, is that the state's technical schools aren't providing enough trained workers for the workforce.
Mah said many businesses are sending their employees to Oklahoma for training.
Improving the system has become a bipartisan mission. The House Republican Caucus said one of its top priorities during the legislative session that starts Monday will be restructuring vocational education to meet the needs of the business community.
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, a Democrat, signed into law the measure that created the Technical School Authority, and she appointed Glassman.
"In today's global market, education cannot end at the 12th grade," Sebelius said.
Glassman said the shortage of skilled workers runs the gamut from carpenters and electricians to bricklayers and machinists. Four out of five Kansas jobs require training beyond high school but not a four-year degree.
Sedgwick County has an immediate need for 5,000 more machinists, many times more than what is being produced in Kansas, Glassman said.
And he said training at the technical schools is too varied. Welding in one school may require 1,000 clock hours while at another 1,900 hours, he said.
"We have many serious issues to deal with," he said.
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Wilbur_Nether (anonymous) says…
The problem, IMO, goes even deeper than this. Part of it is cultural: as a society we tend to turn our noses up, and encourage our kids to go to a University instead of learn a trade. Part of it is systemic: we hire people with liberal arts degrees to run our technical schools. Instead of running occupational training schools, these folks fall back on what they know: liberal arts education. They often try to apply the liberal arts principles to occupational training because they don't understand it. They end up watering down the educational process. We must not only standardize technical training requirements, we must refocus it.
Wilbur_Nether (anonymous) says…
hawkperchedatriverfront asked "...why not in high school start...?" Well, let's reason through this, hawk. Probably because that's not the purpose of high school. And there is pretty decent coverage of the State: http://www.kansasregents.org/institut... And recent "accountability" initiatives such as NCLB have moved high schools (and elementary schools) away from what you call "touchy-feely" curriculum.
dorothyhr (Dorothy Hoyt-Reed) says…
NCLB has only made it more difficult for those students who don't do well academically to take electives, which is what most HS technical training falls under. Instead they have to take remedial classes so they know the difference between a simile and a metaphor. How many of you all out there could answer that? How many plumbers and car mechanics need to know that? Do you care if your plumber and mechanic know the difference? There should be 2 curriculums by the time they get to even middle school: college bound and technical.
Wilbur_Nether (anonymous) says…
dorothyhr wrote "NCLB has only made it more difficult for those students who don't do well academically to take electives...". Well, that's not the ~only~ thing it has done; but it has certainly been an unintended consequence.
dorothyhr continuted: "...which is what most HS technical training falls under." Sure, which is my point, as I read it.
dorothyhr further continued: "...the difference between a simile and a metaphor. How many of you all out there could answer that?" Uh, I could.
dorothyhr concluded: "Do you care if your plumber and mechanic know the difference? There should be 2 curriculums by the time they get to even middle school: college bound and technical." Answering the question doesn't lead to the conclusion. We're back to the purpose of a secondary education...and I could not disagree more with the conclusion. Middle school is far too early for someone to make such a curriculum decision. Plus, since those plumbers and mechanics are going to vote, run for office, and otherwise participate in the democratic process, I ~want~ them to have a liberal arts-oriented high school diploma.
salad (anonymous) says…
Secondary education in the US can be thusly generalized:
We teach the dumb kids too much and the smart kids too little.
jrlii (anonymous) says…
A twelfth grade education is only inadequate because we do not generally allow students to deviate far from the college preparatory curriculum. IIRC one of the best mechanics around started his apprenticeship when he was a whopping 14. (Or was it 11?) He still had academic classes, and formal classes on the way things work, but started getting hands on experience in short order.
Meanwhile in US schools, high school shop programs are largely a thing of the past. If you want something besides a college prep curriculum you may be out of luck.
There is no particular reason that students who want to make a career in the skilled trades should not be prepared for Journeyman jobs when they graduate from high school.
Wilbur_Nether (anonymous) says…
Sure there is, jrlii. They needn't be so much prepared for a journeyman job; they need to be prepared to move to a technical college. And they ought to be prepared to participate in society.
And salad...well, never mind. It's not worth the blood pressure.
salad (anonymous) says…
" They needn't be so much prepared for a journeyman job; they need to be prepared to move to a technical college"
Both of which our current system does neither of. Good luck even finding a program to be a machinist or carpenter.
"And they ought to be prepared to participate in society."
I do not dispute this. I dispute the need to teach and test kids on stuff they will never use for any job or task in life...ever. I challenge you to find a stylist or plumber who's ever really needed to know what logarithms or the quadradic equation is for.
dorothyhr (Dorothy Hoyt-Reed) says…
Technical training does not mean they stop taking academic classes. It just means that instead of calculus they are learning math and computer skills that apply to real technical jobs. They still should be studying Social Studies. All US citizens should be able to pass the same test that immigrants take to become citizens. Why should students wait to get training for technical jobs, and have to pay for a trade school? Our schools are geared towards college bound students. Those who don't want to go to college are bored to death. By the time they graduate, if you mention more school to them they don't want to hear it. Why not train them in HS, if they already know they don't want to go to college?
moderationman (anonymous) says…
Our schools should be geared toward an education, not job training. Technical schools, if provided the correct durriculum can and will do a fine job of job training. Why should your plumber not be able to recognize great music or art? That's part of an education. I get a kick our of the phrase geared toward math and computer skills...back in 1965 we finished our 8th grade math book a couple of weeks early. Our teacher decided to teach us binary and hex. We all thought he was an idiot. Of course today when I do networking, I thank him for his early intro. So why shouldn't your plumber know calc? Maybe he likes math. The idea of dual tracking curicula should have died long ago if its education you are worried about.
toefungus (anonymous) says…
I thought the illegal immigrants were providing the technical know how. Darn Mexico. Please better educate your escapees, I mean citizens.