FlexTrades’ Monthly Manufacturing Calendar Highlight

FlexTrade supports the American manufacturing industry, directly and indirectly, in any way we can. That’s part of why we take advocacy for manufacturing, the skilled trades, and technical education so seriously. It’s also why we think you should too! But we know that life is busier, and noisier, than ever these days. We want to make it easy for you to advocate and grow by sharing something coming up on the calendar each month. With that in mind, we’d like to remind you that CTE Month® starts February 1, 2022!

What is CTE Month?

Career and Technical Education (CTE) directly prepares students (youth AND adult) for high-wage, high-demand careers. CTE Month is a campaign that occurs every February to raise awareness regarding the importance of career and technical education. This effort also celebrates the value of CTE, as well as the achievements and accomplishments of CTE programs across the USA. You may recall a Superbowl commercial for Oklahoma Career Tech that does just that!

How can you celebrate CTE Month?

There are many ways you can participate throughout the month of February.

  • If you’re an instructor or product of a good CTE program, consider hosting a school visit and inviting community members to learn about it firsthand.
  • Do you work for a business that benefits from the skilled trades? You don’t have to wait for a one pager like this from a local shop teacher. Instead, coordinate a local job fair or work with programs to help highlight alumni who you’ve successfully hired.
  • Are you a beneficiary of CTE yourself? Then tell your story. For too long, other people have been telling it for you and the Skills Gap is real because people are getting your story wrong. Engage your local policymakers and industry leaders personally and speak your truth!
  • If that all still sounds like too much work, there’s an option for you too! Whether you’re involved directly through a business or educational institution, or not, you can advocate for CTE without saying a word. Just download the CTE Month Zoom Background (works with your virtual meeting platform of choice) and make sure you turn on your camera the next time you log on!

What’s next?

We hope this motivates you to get involved with advocating for manufacturing. If it does, we also hope it helps you find out just how easy that can be. Why? Because October, and MFG Day, will be here before you know it!

Got other events you think we should know about? Send them to our Writing Team and we’ll be happy to highlight them in the months to come!