During the school day, the Career Center will host only high school CTE courses. However, the facility will operate under a “never-go-dark” philosophy, meaning that in the after-school hours, the Career Center will also be open to the greater community to provide opportunities for employability and skills training for adults and partnerships with local employers.
 

The CTE Steering Committee presented its course recommendations to the KRESA Board of Education in September 2021. The Board affirmed the slate of courses, which will take effect in the fall of 2024, which aligns with the findings of an in-depth labor market analysis and with the planned opening of the Career Center. Programs were selected based on projected job growth and projected well-paying wages in those career clusters.

To view the approved list of CTE course recommendations, click here.
  

The CTE Steering Committee, a committee of local leaders representing education, employers, and community-serving organizations, employed a rigorous course scoring rubric designed by the W. E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research to select courses to be included in the county's redesigned CTE system. The scoring system provided a standardized approach to evaluating each course area to identify clusters that: 

• Lead to well-paying occupations:
  • An occupation is well paying if the annual wage is greater than $41,600.
  • This threshold represents earnings of $20 per hour for a full-time, full-year’s work. 
• Lead to high-growth occupations:
  • An occupation is considered to be high growth if it is projected to increase by more than 3% over the projection period.
  • 3% is below the growth rate for the 2016-2019 period for the US (4.6%), for Michigan (3.1%) and for Kalamazoo Portage (5.3%).
  • 3% is below the growth rate projected for the US over 2019-2029 (3.7%) but well above the rate for the 2018-2028 projections for Michigan (0.1%). 
• Lead to occupations with high industry demand:
  • Job openings can result from both net employment growth (aka, more jobs) and the need to replace workers that retire or otherwise leave an occupation.
  • Job openings provide a measure of the full opportunity set faced by individuals to find a job in their chosen occupation.
  • An occupation is projected to have a high level of job openings if the number is greater than the average change across all occupations over the projection period.

To read previous research by the W.E. Upjohn Institute into CTE and courses that are most likely to lead to high-demand, well-paying careers, please refer to our 2021 Report to the Community.

The new facility, expected to open in fall 2024, will be constructed on the parcel of donated land located along the I-94 and Sprinkle Road corridor next to Wings Stadium.

The facility’s central location, adjacent to a major interstate and near the county’s industrial base, will increase accessibility through a countywide transportation system and ensure equitable access to course offerings for all students across Kalamazoo County school districts. Proximity to many local employers opens up opportunities for students to engage directly with employers through internships and work-based learning opportunities. This highly visible location will also communicate the high value our community places on CTE, attracting more businesses and students to engage with the program. This location is central to our community high schools.
 
 

The new facility is slated to open in fall 2024. Once architectural designs are finalized, we plan to break ground as soon as late summer of 2022 with an expected completion date of mid-summer of 2024.  However, it is difficult to forecast changes in the labor market, supply chain, and other pandemic-related roadblocks that may delay construction.
 

The CTE Operational Millage, passed by voters in 2019, was intended to help fund operating costs, including transportation, equipment and staff, not the complete construction of a new facility. In October 2021, Southwest Michigan First secured an anonymous donation of $100 million and a parcel of land. These incredibly generous gifts will allow for the construction of a world-class Career Center outfitted with the latest industry equipment.

Millage funds have also allowed us to offer new, specific work-based learning opportunities and program initiatives that equip students with real-world, relevant career training and readiness skills. These work-based learning opportunities begin in middle school, continue through high school, and are being woven together with career readiness activities. In some cases, work-based learning can continue beyond high school for those students who transition into the Early/Middle College (EMC) program to earn a skills certificate or associate degree for little to no cost.
 

During the school day, the Career Center will host only high school CTE courses. However, in the after-school hours, the building will also be open to the greater community through employability and skills training for adults, potentially including programs facilitated by KVCC and other local organizations. Some of our programs may provide additional skills and academic training leading to final completion at KVCC and other post-secondary partners. KRESA will continue to partner closely with KVCC in building career training opportunities.

KRESA has and will continue to have a strong partnership with KVCC for the Kalamazoo County Early/Middle College (EMC) program. Additional pathways will be created to strengthen the connection between CTE and EMC where students will complete certifications, credentials, and degrees at KVCC after taking classes at the Career Center.
 

We would love to have an AMP Lab which is a makerspace providing a space to bring ideas to life.  Any business or organization that would like to contribute to such a space in the center should contact KRESA.
 

About 35 years ago, EFE was designed as a decentralized CTE program with classes spread across Kalamazoo County at various high schools and community-based locations. The current CTE redesign effort is a complete change in the approach to targeted skills training and certification. The construction of a Career Center is part of KRESA’s larger initiative to completely redesign career and technical education programming in the county. The old EFE system is burdened by multiple barriers to participation, foremost amongst them being the complexities of student transportation in a decentralized model, especially for underserved populations.

The stadium and Career Center will be co-located, so there will be no impact on current programming. We expect Wings to be more active during the evenings, while Career Center will be busier during the school day.
 

If you are a parent or student, please speak to a school counselor to explore the CTE courses currently available in your district. Also, connect with other families or kids to help more people take advantage of the exciting opportunities a new Career Center will make available.  

If you are an employer or local organization, we welcome your partnership and look forward to collaborating with you. Contact us to learn more about how you can get involved, donate, or engage with students for career exploration and work-based learning opportunities.

Contact:
Eric Stewart,
Assistant Superintendent of Career and Talent Development
Eric.stewart@kresa.org
(269) 250-9383