BY STACI WILSON

Since opening its doors in 1984, the Susquehanna County Career and Technology Center has keeps evolving as a center focused on meeting the workforce needs of the area and country’s changing economy.

Executive Director Dr. Alice Davis has played an integral role in the SCCTC evolution. Her success led to her being chosen to represent the not only Pennsylvania, but the country, at a recent U.S. Senate briefing in Washington, D.C., regarding the importance of CTE Education.

This was the first event of the year for the Senate Career Technical Education (CTE) Caucus which explored a variety of issues facing CTE in rural communities. The event consisted of a panel discussion between four experts, including Davis, in the fields of CTE and rural issues.

February is Career and Technical Center Education month, but SCCTC’s director is focused on building the local program every day.

Davis, who also serves as the SCCTC guidance counselor, told the senators, “We incorporate academic as well as technical skills in rigorous training programs. Importance is also placed on the additional soft skills necessary to be successful in the workplace.”

Davis has cultivated a “backward design” when it comes to determining SCCTC program offerings.

“I listen to business and industry needs, as well as student needs,” she said. A high priority is placed on programs that lead to careers that provide a living, sustaining wage, Davis said. “Everything we have here does.”

She stressed the importance of working with employers, including the use of an Occupational Advisory Board that meets twice a year.

On Feb. 3-4, Davis and SCCTC staff members presented a breakout session on “Developing and Enhancing Successful Partnerships in Rural PA” at the Pennsylvania Association of Career & Technical Administrators Education and Workforce Development Symposium in Hershey.

These partnerships have provided insight for SCCTC about the skills necessary to obtain a job in the gas and oil industry thus providing the workforce necessary for these companies to be successful. In turn, the gas industry provides considerable funding for the students through tools, uniforms and certification testing fees.

There are 14 programs offered at SCCTC, from auto mechanics to carpentry and cabinet-making, cosmetology, food and hospitality management, nursing, and welding. Davis commended the SCCTC school board for its vision to provide the opportunities to area students.

Welding is a program that came from listening to business, industry and students, Davis said.

Davis said it is incredible to see students build a house, run a restaurant and cut hair. “These ninth through 12th graders have so much talent,” she said.

“Not everybody is a good test-taker,” Davis said, noting the importance of project-based assessments. “We tie in the academics and build on the students’ technical skills.”

More than 60 percent of SCCTC graduates go on to post-secondary education; others have developed the skills needed to gain employment in their field or begin military service with an advanced placement.

“We need four-year colleges,” Davis said, “but we also need other avenues.” With rising student debt, the director said she would like to see more people to recognize the value of skilled trades. “The way we measure success needs to be looked at differently,” she said.

Davis also sees the SCCTC as a way to keep at-risk students from dropping out of school. The credit for that, she said, goes to the teaching staff. “We hire the best teachers,” she said. “The teachers have to be able to teach all types of students and challenge them to work at their best ability to prepare them for the real world out there.”

And in the real world, there are employment opportunities for those who possess the needed skills.

“Pennsylvania has the second largest elderly population in the country next to Florida,” Davis said. “We all have a vested interest in the future to train people to fill the skill gap.”