Summit showcases career, technical education opportunities

Holly Marie Moore, The Free Press, Mankato, Minn.
Updated ·2 min read

Oct. 27—Augmented reality welding machines and virtual reality painting simulators were just some of the 21st century opportunities for attendees of a career and technical education summit to try out on Friday.

New-Ulm based team Big Ideas, which brought the trailer featuring the technology and helps bring hands-on career and technical education experience to schools, said the tech has several benefits, including cutting down on training costs by using less product.

The trailer was among features of a summit that brought together what's known as the South Central Perkins Consortium at South Central College on Friday.

SCC and 26 area school districts' career and technical educators throughout the region came to the summit to learn about various opportunities in the trades.

Experts were able to share about opportunities, best practices and support available in different careers.

The goal, said SCC Cooperative Regional Career and Technical Education Coordinator Kim Mueller, is for teachers, counselors and administrators to take what they learn and implement it in their school districts and communities.

"So the whole thought is learn what's out there, learn what's in our region, learn what's available to them and then be able to take and do some great things with it," she said.

The event included a variety of sessions, said Laura Attenberger, SCC vice president of academic affairs.

Some of them taught attendees about more hands-on opportunities such as health science equipment and virtual reality training devices, while others provided information about programming options and various apprenticeship opportunities available in career and technical education.

"We have some panels here as well, so we have an employer panel, where folks are able to learn more about how students can engage with employers, and then we also have a student panel who are talking kind of about their educational and then eventual career journeys," she said.

Attenberger said while there have been statewide events like this in the past, this is the first time they've held a regional event.

Mankato Area Public Schools Career Pathway Coordinator Caleb Watson said it's great to have opportunities like the summit so close to the area.

"With just the different sessions that are available, from the Big Ideas trailer to VR technology, showcasing the health science mobile lab that the region's going to have access to hopefully in the next year or so, there's a lot of really good things. And area instructors are able to come and kind of strategically go to these sessions and find the ones that fit them and their programs and then bring back those new pieces to their school districts," he said.