Florida Public School Choice Consortium Online Newsletter

Optimizing Technical Skills in all Career Academies

<< BACK TO NEWSLETTER Submit an Article

Optimizing Technical Skills in all Career Academies

Article Submitted By Horace Robertson

During National CTE Month celebrating the ultimate occupation in any career pathway is another way to engage students, parents, and community members who understand the need for entrepreneurial endeavors. At http://www.entre-ed.org/_how/ccr/tools.html the US Department of Labor has posted a listing of the entrepreneurial occupations in each of the 16 Career Pathways. At this time in our Nation’s history it is important that all Americans understand the contributions of Entrepreneurs to our economy.

All students and parents need to know that the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Advocacy estimates that in 2008, there were 29.6 million businesses in the US. More than 21.7 million of those businesses had no employees. Anyone can, and millions of average Americans do, create their own jobs. For 2010, the Consortium is publishing a significant paper "CAREER READY with ENTREPRENEURSHIP ....a Key 21st Century Skill! - A Call for Entrepreneurial "GENIUSES" for the Workplace". You can share it with those who need to learn about entrepreneurship education. Check it out on the homepage for National Entrepreneurship Week. Download and use/copy/send it to inform students and parents in your academy.

Regardless of which Career Academy your students are enrolled in, they will need to have an entrepreneurial mind set if they are to be successful in the changing workplaces of the world, especially those in the US. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills has outlined key skills to be incorporated into the core foundational skills essential for all students. Entrepreneurial literacy is one of those strands. You may note that life skills such as personal responsibility and personal ethics can best be delivered in the high interest context of Entrepreneurship.

This year the planning team for National Entrepreneurship Week recognized that Entrepreneurial Literacy empowers everyone no matter whether they are working for someone else in the workplace or if they are operating their own entrepreneurial venture. The details of this entrepreneurial Literacy initiative can be found on the web at http://www.nationaleweek.org/. Entrepreneurial Genius Certificates can be downloaded from the website to honor those proving they are literate.

Entrepreneurial Literacy means having some basic knowledge of how a business is created and managed. It is the starting point for real experiences that test one’s knowledge and skills and motivate the entrepreneurial spirit in each of us. Real entrepreneurial skills come from experience. Literacy is the starting point to enable one to learn from experiences.

During the celebrations of National Entrepreneurship Week in February 2010, everyone is encouraged to use the 20 questions below in many different ways...to start the conversation. You will note that there is no single answer for any of the questions...rather an opportunity to really give some thought to the question. Answers will be different depending on the situation....and in fact will change over time.

20 Questions for All Americans

How can a person's career skills and experiences lead to becoming a successful entrepreneur?

What personality traits are more likely to lead to success as an entrepreneur?

Are there differences between a market economy, entrepreneurship, free enterprise, and capitalism?   Explain.

What taxes do entrepreneurs pay?

What items are part of a firm's operating costs?

How can an entrepreneur learn about what the customers want?

How can computer skills help with business operations?

How do entrepreneurs deal with risks?

How is personal financial literacy related to business financial literacy?

What factors determine where to locate a business?

Why is branding important?

How does competition affect entrepreneurship?

What percent of American firms have no employees working for them?   Why is this important?

What are some sources of funding to start a business?

What can an entrepreneur do if business sales drop off?

What should an entrepreneur consider when hiring employees for the business?

How does an entrepreneur work in a country that doesn't support capitalism?

What is "tolerance of ambiguity" and why is it important to an entrepreneur?

How might an entrepreneur use company profits?

Why do entrepreneurs say they are in charge of their own fate?

Ideas shared below for optimizing the entrepreneurial literacy initiatives of National Entrepreneurship Week (NEW) 2010 (February 20-27, 2010) were developed during the Idea Factory session and are summarized so that you can utilize them in your community. As you read the ideas and have additional ideas to add please send them to Cashmore@entre-ed.com. She is delighted to work with the CEE webmaster to post ideas for celebrating National Entrepreneurship Week that others might find helpful.

All of these ideas were shared by participants during the Idea Factory session at the annual National Entrepreneurship FORUM in November 2009 in Norfolk Virginia. One way the Consortium for Entrepreneurship assists its member groups is by accepting ideas and placing them in a repository and allowing others to learn from those Entrepreneurship Educators who are effective in this field.

Select and use any of the ideas below during your celebrations and then share results back with the Consortium as to the ways you used them and the results of your initiatives. Pictures of your events can also be added to your state’s web pages on the National Entrepreneurship Week website. Share your events with your state team leader and with the CEE webmaster.

→   At celebrations of National Career and Technical Education (CTE) month involve the participants in some discussion of the ultimate job in America – that of being an entrepreneur in any career pathway. See http://www.entre-ed.org/_how/ccr/tools.html if assistance is needed. Find ways to focus on the questions and the certificates if possible.

→   As students are working on competitive events for CTSOs that have an entrepreneurship focus, be sure they can respond to the 20 questions appropriately. If they can respond properly, provide the students with the Entrepreneurship Genius Certificates. The certificates could be included in the project if possible to show the knowledge base of the student.

→ As students are preparing for internships, shadowing experiences, or cooperative on-the-job training, encourage all participants to be sure they understand how to respond to the 20 questions as they are entering workplaces that value entrepreneurial mindsets. Provide Entrepreneurship Genius Certificates to them when they have appropriately prepared to respond or when they have been able to use the knowledge they have in entrepreneurial ways during their worksite experiences. This can enhance student’s resumes.

→   Bring young entrepreneurs (Graduates from your Cluster Area if possible) into the classroom or after school program during the NEW and ask them to address some of the 20 questions. You could do panel presentations and have individual young entrepreneurs address one or more of the questions as they tell their entrepreneurship story. Provide Entrepreneurship Genius Certificates to them as a gesture of appreciation.

The creative ideas for celebrating National Entrepreneurship Week 2010 shared above are just idea starters for you as you optimize National CTE Month. When the US Congress established National Entrepreneurship Week they wanted to honor the contributions of entrepreneurs throughout our nation for their contributions as well as share the value added by entrepreneurship Educators. Everyone is encouraged to do just that as we celebrate during the final week of February.

As you advance entrepreneurial understanding in your career academy you ensure that your students can optimize their technical skills as they advance in their careers in their chosen pathway. Many of your students will work for someone else as they refine their skill sets and then will establish their own businesses. Many will work alone and many will create businesses that employ others. Help them have the skill set they need as they advance through their career pathway.

Hopefully you will find that there are many Entrepreneurial Geniuses advancing their ideas in your Academy and in our economy for the benefit of our nation!

Prepare for the Ultimate Occupation!            Work for yourself!

Article Submitted By Horace Robertson

During National CTE Month celebrating the ultimate occupation in any career pathway is another way to engage students, parents, and community members who understand the need for entrepreneurial endeavors. At http://www.entre-ed.org/_how/ccr/tools.html the US Department of Labor has posted a listing of the entrepreneurial occupations in each of the 16 Career Pathways. At this time in our Nation’s history it is important that all Americans understand the contributions of Entrepreneurs to our economy.

All students and parents need to know that the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Advocacy estimates that in 2008, there were 29.6 million businesses in the US. More than 21.7 million of those businesses had no employees. Anyone can, and millions of average Americans do, create their own jobs. For 2010, the Consortium is publishing a significant paper "CAREER READY with ENTREPRENEURSHIP ....a Key 21st Century Skill! - A Call for Entrepreneurial "GENIUSES" for the Workplace". You can share it with those who need to learn about entrepreneurship education. Check it out on the homepage for National Entrepreneurship Week. Download and use/copy/send it to inform students and parents in your academy.

Regardless of which Career Academy your students are enrolled in, they will need to have an entrepreneurial mind set if they are to be successful in the changing workplaces of the world, especially those in the US. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills has outlined key skills to be incorporated into the core foundational skills essential for all students. Entrepreneurial literacy is one of those strands. You may note that life skills such as personal responsibility and personal ethics can best be delivered in the high interest context of Entrepreneurship.

This year the planning team for National Entrepreneurship Week recognized that Entrepreneurial Literacy empowers everyone no matter whether they are working for someone else in the workplace or if they are operating their own entrepreneurial venture. The details of this entrepreneurial Literacy initiative can be found on the web at http://www.nationaleweek.org/. Entrepreneurial Genius Certificates can be downloaded from the website to honor those proving they are literate.

Entrepreneurial Literacy means having some basic knowledge of how a business is created and managed. It is the starting point for real experiences that test one’s knowledge and skills and motivate the entrepreneurial spirit in each of us. Real entrepreneurial skills come from experience. Literacy is the starting point to enable one to learn from experiences.

During the celebrations of National Entrepreneurship Week in February 2010, everyone is encouraged to use the 20 questions below in many different ways...to start the conversation. You will note that there is no single answer for any of the questions...rather an opportunity to really give some thought to the question. Answers will be different depending on the situation....and in fact will change over time.

20 Questions for All Americans

How can a person's career skills and experiences lead to becoming a successful entrepreneur?
What personality traits are more likely to lead to success as an entrepreneur?
Are there differences between a market economy, entrepreneurship, free enterprise, and capitalism? Explain.
What taxes do entrepreneurs pay?
What items are part of a firm's operating costs?
How can an entrepreneur learn about what the customers want?
How can computer skills help with business operations?
How do entrepreneurs deal with risks?
How is personal financial literacy related to business financial literacy?
What factors determine where to locate a business?
Why is branding important?
How does competition affect entrepreneurship?
What percent of American firms have no employees working for them? Why is this important?
What are some sources of funding to start a business?
What can an entrepreneur do if business sales drop off?
What should an entrepreneur consider when hiring employees for the business?
How does an entrepreneur work in a country that doesn't support capitalism?
What is "tolerance of ambiguity" and why is it important to an entrepreneur?
How might an entrepreneur use company profits?
Why do entrepreneurs say they are in charge of their own fate?

Ideas shared below for optimizing the entrepreneurial literacy initiatives of National Entrepreneurship Week (NEW) 2010 (February 20-27, 2010) were developed during the Idea Factory session and are summarized so that you can utilize them in your community. As you read the ideas and have additional ideas to add please send them to Cashmore@entre-ed.com. She is delighted to work with the CEE webmaster to post ideas for celebrating National Entrepreneurship Week that others might find helpful.

All of these ideas were shared by participants during the Idea Factory session at the annual National Entrepreneurship FORUM in November 2009 in Norfolk Virginia. One way the Consortium for Entrepreneurship assists its member groups is by accepting ideas and placing them in a repository and allowing others to learn from those Entrepreneurship Educators who are effective in this field.

Select and use any of the ideas below during your celebrations and then share results back with the Consortium as to the ways you used them and the results of your initiatives. Pictures of your events can also be added to your state’s web pages on the National Entrepreneurship Week website. Share your events with your state team leader and with the CEE webmaster.

→ At celebrations of National Career and Technical Education (CTE) month involve the participants in some discussion of the ultimate job in America – that of being an entrepreneur in any career pathway. See http://www.entre-ed.org/_how/ccr/tools.html if assistance is needed. Find ways to focus on the questions and the certificates if possible.

→ As students are working on competitive events for CTSOs that have an entrepreneurship focus, be sure they can respond to the 20 questions appropriately. If they can respond properly, provide the students with the Entrepreneurship Genius Certificates. The certificates could be included in the project if possible to show the knowledge base of the student.

→ As students are preparing for internships, shadowing experiences, or cooperative on-the-job training, encourage all participants to be sure they understand how to respond to the 20 questions as they are entering workplaces that value entrepreneurial mindsets. Provide Entrepreneurship Genius Certificates to them when they have appropriately prepared to respond or when they have been able to use the knowledge they have in entrepreneurial ways during their worksite experiences. This can enhance student’s resumes.

→ Bring young entrepreneurs (Graduates from your Cluster Area if possible) into the classroom or after school program during the NEW and ask them to address some of the 20 questions. You could do panel presentations and have individual young entrepreneurs address one or more of the questions as they tell their entrepreneurship story. Provide Entrepreneurship Genius Certificates to them as a gesture of appreciation.

The creative ideas for celebrating National Entrepreneurship Week 2010 shared above are just idea starters for you as you optimize National CTE Month. When the US Congress established National Entrepreneurship Week they wanted to honor the contributions of entrepreneurs throughout our nation for their contributions as well as share the value added by entrepreneurship Educators. Everyone is encouraged to do just that as we celebrate during the final week of February.

As you advance entrepreneurial understanding in your career academy you ensure that your students can optimize their technical skills as they advance in their careers in their chosen pathway. Many of your students will work for someone else as they refine their skill sets and then will establish their own businesses. Many will work alone and many will create businesses that employ others. Help them have the skill set they need as they advance through their career pathway.

Hopefully you will find that there are many Entrepreneurial Geniuses advancing their ideas in your Academy and in our economy for the benefit of our nation!

Prepare for the Ultimate Occupation! Work for yourself!