Balow Says Workforce Training Improvement Needed

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow says there is room for improvement in training Wyoming students for the workforce.

Balow says one of the tings that needs more emphasis includes dual and concurrent enrollment, so high school students can take college courses that train them in job skills Wyoming companies need. She says she would like to see more widespread use of internships and externships to allow students to get real-life experience with Wyoming industry.

Balow also says job training that doesn't eventually lead to some sort of professional certification needs to be phased out.

But on the positive side, Balow says her visits to state schools are revealing a lot of innovative education programs around the state. She cites one example as a recent visit to Wheatland Middle School, where students in shop classes where using laser technology to engrave their projects.

Balow credits such innovative education program to local control of schools that allows for  creativity as opposed to a "one size fits all" approach to education.