TECH PREP COULD GIVE STUDENTS AN ADVANTAGE

In today's competitive marketplace, jobseekers need an advantage. That's especially true for students right out of school without on-the-job experience.

That's the appeal of a new program being introduced to Southeast Missouri high school students. The Cape Girardeau Area Vocational-Technical has joined with high schools and technical schools in the region, along with the Mineral Area College at Flat River, to develop a new technical preparation or Tech Prep offering. The community college received a three-year, $350,000 grant from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to develop the model.

The joint effort should help today's students prepare for tomorrow's jobs. Low-skill, low-pay jobs are rapidly disappearing, replaced by careers with more high-tech demands in computers, lasers, robotics and electronics. Experts estimate that nearly 80 percent of all new jobs created in the next decade will require some sort of post-high school education, but not necessarily a college degree.

That's where the Tech Prep track comes in. The program targets that niche between a high school diploma and college degree. Studies show that this approach may be sorely needed. With more than 50 percent of high school students pursuing "general track" curriculum in the state, they may find themselves ill-prepared for either the work place or the college setting.

Under the Tech Prep concept, students in area vocational schools could begin working toward an associate's degree while still in high school. They could then complete the final two years of the program at a community college or technical school.

This year the consortium of schools is creating career guidance materials. Curriculum for the first program should be developed next year. The first classes may be offered in the fall of 1993.

Tech Prep could also take some of the burden off employers. With a lack of skilled workers on the market, many businesses are forced to conduct their own extensive training programs. Tech Prep could take up some of that training slack. It's a partnership that could give area students a definite educational advantage in the work force.