PY2018 State Plan ModificationSECTION III(a)(2)(G)
Leveraging Resources to Increase Ed Access
(III). Operational Planning Elements
(a). State Strategy Implementation
(2). Implementation of State Strategy
(G). Leveraging Resources to Increase Educational Access
This section describes how the State’s strategies will enable the State to leverage other Federal, State, and local investments that have enhanced access to workforce development programs at the above institutions, described in section (E).
Idaho’s State Plan strategies are well positioned to leverage the state’s Workforce Development Training Fund. This fund is supported from 3% of the unemployment insurance taxes collected in Idaho. From this fund, the Workforce Development Council approvesd sector partnership grants to increase the pipeline for a variety of in-demand occupations. Many of the funds have directly fortified the post-secondary education opportunities in the state. Some examples include, doubling the capacity of the computer science program at Boise State University, providing state of the art medical equipment to Idaho State University, and training incumbent workers with more technical skills to receive a license in log scaling.
Additionally, the state’s strategy to develop and align career pathways with our target sectors may encourage additional support from employers and the private sector in the form of investments in Idaho’s post-secondary institutions and technical schools. Additionally, our strategy to improve rural service delivery may help leverage existing resources and innovations in the private sector—especially regarding remote delivery—which our post-secondary institutions can adapt for educational purposes.
Research and implementation of promising delivery models for distance education and remote service delivery will behas been shared among workforce development partner programs to improve knowledge of, and access to, alternative learning modalities. For example, the Division of Professional-Technical Education (PTE)the Legislature, through Idaho Career & Technical Educationis investing in a new model called “PTE Digital.”continues to invest in CTE Digital through annual appropriations.This model comprisesCTE Digital provides online career-and-technical education courses to serve rural students who don’t have access to live PTE CTE programs.
Through a partnership with the Idaho Digital Learning Academy (the state-funded online school), existing courses are being updated and new courses developed to meet PTE standards. Both online and hybrid models are under development - for example, students interested in health care can now access Fundamentals of Health Care and Medical Terminology online. Concurrently, students can work with a professional-technical school to facilitate clinicals and work experience in the student’s local community. PTE Digital will also have fully online programs of study in Information Technology, Business Administration and other appropriate areas.
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