Career-related Programme highlighted as innovative career-track study for today’s global economy
On 10 November, the IB participated in the White House’s Next Gen High School Summit, a national conversation on transforming high schools to better serve all students. The IB was invited in recognition of its newest educational program, the IB Career-related Programme (CP).
The CP meets the needs of schools seeking a technical or career-related studies option that combines career-related skills with a rigorous academic program to prepare students for success in career or post-secondary education. By combining challenging academics with hands-on experience in career pathways chosen at the local school level, rather than establishing a set, standard career-track, the CP distinguishes itself from traditional career and technical education programs and helps to shape students who are prepared for success in either career or higher education. The strong academic foundation also prepares these students for the continued training required of most employees today. The ability to be trained and re-trained is a skill that will garner more importance in the years to come: by 2020, 65 percent of jobs are predicted to require post-secondary training.
Of particular significance to the White House’s effort was the CP’s foreign language requirement. For the IB, foreign language development ensures that all CP students have access and are exposed to a second language. This not only increases the students’ understanding of the wider world, but is a highly sought after skill in today’s global job market.
Since its inception in 1968, the IB’s flagship Diploma Programme (DP) has been attracting students who seek a challenging academic program which recognizes the need for a global approach to learning and living. Participation in the DP has been proven to be a pathway to success in postsecondary education. Research released this spring showed that 78 percent of DP students enrolled immediately in post-secondary education following high school graduation; the national enrollment rate was 69 percent. Even more notably, the four year graduation rate for DP diploma earners was 84 percent, compared to 39 percent nationally.
Previously offered only to schools already authorized to offer the DP, beginning in 2016, the CP will be made available to all secondary schools around the globe, including the 24,357 in the United States.
Drew Deutsch, regional director for IB Americas said, “It was an honor to be invited to the White House and be part of their effort to ensure that high schools in the U.S. better serve all students, and especially important to be recognized for our Career-related Programme. We anticipate that the CP will become one of the IB’s most popular offerings because its flexibility allows schools to cater the programme to the needs, backgrounds and contexts of their students and their community.”
