itWORKS-OHIO is a competency-based curriculum for IT students in the secondary school transferring to community colleges in Ohio. itWORKS is unique, and a source of growing notice not just around the US but also across the Atlantic in England and elsewhere.
Managed by Sara Mazak and Rick Mangini, of the Career Technical & Adult Education group of the Ohio Dept of Education, itWORKS' greatest strengths are its highly developed structure, and its direct connection to the professional world of IT management, as represented by volunteers from a couple of dozen Ohio companies. Some of these professionals are managers, some are experts in key areas, there have been a number of CIOs participating in the group. This group dedicates several full days per year to reviewing the competencies in the itWORKS standard, and suggesting ways to make the program ever more relevant and meaningful for students - and ultimately, for employers who will need to hire new talent when these students are ready for the job market.
This year, Sara and Rick have taken this group in a little different direction. Those who volunteered to participate are working to help resolve what might be called the "pipeline problem."
The heart of the problem is getting kids interesting in the computer science and IT-related fields soon enough that they can get the educational background they will need to complete adequate advanced education, and succeed in the workplace. Simply having great thumbs to be a whiz with a cell phone or a portable game system - is not anywhere near enough to be able to make a living dealing with the real-world issues of IT. Not only do you need some math and science for engineering, but you need English and reading skills to successfully communicate - and - even more important - you need to understand the principles of project management involving teams, personal responsibility and ways to recognize the start of a good solution versus an unproductive one.
Getting kids interesting early so that they can sign up for TechPrep program and itWORKS - is part of filling the "pipeline" for future talent in the workforce. HR and hiring managers for Ohio companies need to know that the talent they need in the short and long term will be available - and the number of people in the educational system - headed for professional accreditation of any sort - is a key measure of the prospects for the Ohio economy.
So this business group is tackling some of the issues - how to recruit kids - interest them in the field, help them succeed once in, and transition to the further levels of education and training required for an successful career.
Some of the problems this group faces are real problems of perception. All the news about outsourcing has made parents very concerned for their children - trying to shepherd them into lucrative careers that will make them secure in their futures. The facts about out-sourcing are anything but dire, and - in fact - the needs for IT personnel have risen annually for the past several years. Opportunity is changing - in character, in duties, in job title - but the opportunity is nonetheless real and increasing. Unfortunately bad and disturbing news travels much quicker - and persists much longer - than the good news that may even be more accurate.
The group has its work cut out for it. But Jim Kouri of Honda - chairman of the group - is expertly steering the collection of - primarily - business people through the difficult waters of collaboration - while Sara and Rick try to keep the reality o f the challenges of education programs and infrastructure - and the inevitable state bureaucracy - on the view screen, without thwarting the productive efforts of the group.
Check out the initial version of a Web presence for the itWORKS Business Advisory Network.
If you would like more info about itWORKS, or would like to volunteer in some way - let me know and I'll put you in touch with Sara and Rick.
(-- originally posted by Rich Bowers, Coordinator, Ohio IT Clearinghouse)
