STUDENTS IN THE CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION PROGRAM AT PITTSBURGH PUBLIC SCHOOLS are getting a firsthand view of what it’s like to work in some city jobs.
It’s all thanks to a partnership with Pittsburgh Public Schools
While you were sleeping, there were high school students in Pittsburgh Public Schools’ Career and Technical Education Emergency Response program shadowing EMTs from the City of Pittsburgh. As those EMTs were going out on calls, saving lives, the students got to see it firsthand.
One day, they’ll be Emergency Medical Technicians, helping to save lives, too.
Across town, there were PPS students in the machine operations program of CTE, who went with City of Pittsburgh employees to the city’s sign shop and saw where and how they make all the signs you see around the city.
THE PARTNERSHIP—SUPERINTENDENT DR. WAYNE WALTERS, CITY CHIEF OF STAFF JAKE WHEATLEY, CTE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ANGELA MIKE, MAYOR ED GAINEY.
Right now, many of the roughly 560 high school students enrolled in CTE’s 16 programs across six high schools are going on field trips, or job shadowing, learning the tricks of the “trade” with the professionals who do this type of stuff for a living.
Angela Mike, executive director of the CTE program, called the field trips and job shadowing, “base 1 and base 2” of the three-part plan between PPS and the City of Pittsburgh to give the students “Pathways to Prosperity.” In fact, that is the name of Mayor Ed Gainey’s initiative to get young people hooked up with jobs in fields from RHVAC (Refrigeration, Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning), Machining, Carpentry, Emergency Response, Cosmetology, Auto Body Repair, Health Technology, Information Technology, Business Administration, Culinary Arts, Multimedia Production/Coding, and other fields.
STUDENTS IN THE CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION PROGRAM AT PITTSBURGH PUBLIC SCHOOLS are getting a firsthand view of what it’s like to work in some city jobs.
To the city, it was a no-brainer to partner further with PPS’ CTE program, giving the city access to so many students who want to make great careers for themselves. The expanded partnership was announced on Sept. 9.
What’s different about this partnership and previous partnerships between the CTE program and the city is that paid internships and jobs will be offered to the high school seniors in the program beginning in spring 2023.
“Without our youth, there is no future,” Mayor Gainey said in a statement provided to the New Pittsburgh Courier. “Our job as leaders is to make sure that you have an opportunity and path forward into a career where you can live a safe and thriving life for yourself and your family. This new partnership between the City of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Public Schools, and business leaders from virtually every sector of our economy is the start of creating new pathways to prosperity for students in Pittsburgh.”
“My goal every year is to make sure every student has a confirmed plan before they graduate,” Mike told the Courier, “and this partnership helps to make sure that happens.”
Mike said there are 140 high school seniors enrolled in PPS’ CTE programs. She said they’re ecstatic at the idea of the paid internships and jobs coming available. She also commended Mayor Gainey for his “major expansion” of the partnership between the city and CTE.
“CTE needs its partners to prosper,” she added. “We need partners committed to providing tangible outcomes for our students, as we work to prepare them for essential careers with family sustaining wages. This expanded partnership with the City of Pittsburgh is an important component of our division’s upward trajectory and our long-standing mission to help address critical workforce shortages in our region.”
“‘Prepare to Prosper’ (the official name of PPS’ CTE initiative) is a true demonstration of the power of partnership and what can happen when we, the adults, work together to put students first,” said Superintendent Wayne N. Walters, Ed.D, in a statement. “We are grateful to Mayor Ed Gainey and the City of Pittsburgh for its investment in our students through real-life work experiences and ultimately ensuring their economic livelihood through full-time career-ladder employment.”
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