Nontraditional Career Preparation

Fundamental to NAPE’s mission is the development of education and workforce development programs that expand career opportunities for men and women, especially in high-skill, high-wage nontraditional career fields. Nontraditional careers are those occupations in which one gender comprises less than 25% of the current workforce.  Why is it important for NAPE to promote nontraditional career preparation?

• High-demand careers fields need the full potential workforce pool
• Nontraditional careers offer higher wage potential and benefits that contribute to family economic self-sufficiency
• Women have been known to double their income in occupations traditionally dominated by men
• Workforce diversity leads to innovation and global economic competitiveness
• Choosing a career based on skills and interests leads to higher career satisfaction

Nontraditional Career Preparation Programs

NAPE provides technical assistance, resources, and professional development on strategies for increasing the participation and completion of students in programs nontraditional for their gender:

• Nontraditional Career Preparation: Root Causes and Strategies—This literature review is organized into research theories, evidence, recommendations and strategies, and effective practice and resources based upon root causes.
• STEM Equity Pipeline—This NSF-funded program builds the capacity of the formal education community to implement research-based approaches to increase the participation of females, including those with disabilities, in STEM education.
• Resources on Nontraditional Careers for Women and Men—NAPE has compiled resources related to nontraditional occupations, which are presented according to type of resource (e.g., publication, curriculum/toolkit, videos, posters, etc.)
• Staff Presentations on Nontraditional Career Preparation

Nontraditional Accountability Measures in Perkins IV

Perkins IV includes two accountability measures that require every state and local education agency receiving Perkins funds to increase the participation and completion of underrepresented gender students in nontraditional career and technical education. NAPE provides technical assistance and resources on strategies for improving data collection:

• Guide for Program Improvement for Perkins IV: Nontraditional CTE Program Participation and Completion—This guide provides data analysis tools that states and locals may want to use when looking at the data collected for the participation and completion of students in nontraditional CTE programs and the disaggregated data elements to identify performance gaps in student performance.
• Nontraditional Crosswalk—NAPE designated each 2010 Classification of Instructional Program (CIP) as nontraditional or nontraditional (coded with an explanation).
• State Lists of Nontraditional CTE Programs for Perkins Accountability
• Growing Pains—NAPE analyzed data collected during Perkins III to answer certain questions about the participation and completion of underrepresented gender students in nontraditional CTE programs.
• OVAE Perkins Collaborative Resource Network for Program and Data Quality