Washougal asks business leaders to help Career and Technical Education program

Washougal — Washougal area employers, business leaders and educators came together for an evening of collaboration on Oct. 25 at Washougal High School to help the district’s Career and Technical Education department leverage existing school programs to prepare the future workforce. “Businesses are asking us for skilled workers,” Margaret Rice, director of the program, said in a release from the district. “We want them to understand the current work being done and the programs offered here to prepare our students for their post-secondary education and careers. An important step in this process is to create meaningful standards that, once met, demonstrate to potential employers that this student has learned the skills needed to be successful in a specific industry.” Brock Smith, from Precision Exams and Industry Engaged, was the keynote speaker. Industry Engaged, an online survey program, can be used to become part of the ongoing review and revision of the standards, assessments and available certificates of the program’s offerings. “This ensures that by the time a student has earned a certificate, or a stackable credential, that the knowledge and skills employers desperately need are represented and recognized by those very same employers,” Smith said at the event.