Ohio Public Media Stations Highlight Pathways to Skilled Jobs in “The Career Path Less Taken”

September 4, 2019

The Career Path Less Taken - American Graduate Special

Ohio's public media stations – ideastreamWOSU Public Media, and CET – local partners in the CPB-funded national public media initiative American Graduate: Getting to Work— collaborated to produce “The Career Path Less Taken.” The half-hour documentary, premiering Thursday, September 5, 2019 at 8 p.m. on all three stations, highlights innovative career-tech education programs across the state that are preparing young people for the jobs of tomorrow. Viewers can also watch on the PBS Video App at the time of the premiere, and on-demand on their station’s website.

Ohio is facing labor shortages in high-growth fields such as computer technology, healthcare services and advanced manufacturing. Stakeholders across the state are invested in growing a skilled labor force and increasing the emphasis on the multiple education and training options available. “The Career Path Less Taken” features many of these invaluable career technical education programs that are helping to close the skills gap.

The Career Path Less Taken | Preview

A companion digital toolkit for “The Career Path Less Taken” is available to help schools and community organizations facilitate local screenings of the documentary. The toolkit includes a discussion guide to inspire conversations about career options and planning among families and communities.

The Career Path Less Taken | Toolkit

“This documentary is a fantastic opportunity for Ohio students and their families to gain a better understanding of career-technical education and its many benefits,” State Superintendent of Public Instruction Paolo DeMaria said. “Hands-on learning is more engaging and exciting for students and can lead to amazing career opportunities. We also know that career-tech students are ready for college and are very successful when they get there. I’m grateful to Ohio's public media stations for telling this story and for bringing attention to this form of education in our state.”

Ohio viewers can follow the conversation about the broadcast on social media using #AmGrad and #CareerPathOH.

About American Graduate

Since 2011, the public media initiative American Graduate, made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), has grown into one of the largest public media collaborations across the country with over 125 local public media organizations, and national television and radio producers and distributors, working with more than 1,700 community partners. National and local reporting, public forums and town halls, and education resources drove awareness and discussions among leaders, educators, students and concerned citizens, and inspired adults to become an American Graduate Champion for the nation’s youth. Stations played an important role helping communities address the challenges and highlight local solutions to the dropout crisis, and the national graduation rate is now at an unprecedented 84.1 percent.

In 2018, together with 19 stations, CPB launched the initiative’s next phase, American Graduate: Getting to Work, to partner with schools and businesses, and help prepare students with the skill sets and training needed to be part of the new workforce, especially for high-demand fields. Join the conversation at facebook/americangraduate, and find out more through your local public media station or cpb.org/americangraduate.

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