Career Tech State Director Brent Haken said the 68 million dollars will make a big difference in the state of Oklahoma and adds it will impact workforce needs and the shortages across Oklahoma businesses.
Haken said last year Career Tech received 175 million dollars from the state legislature.
“We’ve been asking for $41 million. We received ten of that last year and so $31 million is still in that request. it’s also to increase exposure to students early opportunities,” said Haken.
Career Tech offers training within a variety of areas ranging from healthcare to construction.
Haken said more than 30,000 students are receiving post-secondary education in their system.
He said more than 140,000 of them are in K-12.
“Fifth, sixth grade is really crucial to make sure that students have an idea of what careers are available so they can be motivated about education and so they can be excited about what they’re moving into,” said Haken.
He said they are seeing shortages in vocational or trade-based spaces and currently do not have people trained.
Haken added some of the continual high demand is in healthcare rating top three.
“Career Tech turned out over 75 percent of LPN’s last year with the nation’s highest pass rate of any system,” said Haken.
He said while healthcare suffers shortages, the biggest shortage they see is CDL truck driver licensure.
Haken added there is also growth in the area of manufacturing in Oklahoma and said there is a need to train for automation.