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= Career Clusters: Pathways to College and Career Readiness =

The National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium (NASDCTEc) has collaborated with American industry leaders to develop learning and planning tools for use in classrooms across the country. Career Clusters connect school-based learning to the knowledge and skills required for success in the workplace by providing students with relevant and applicable contexts for learning. The National Career Clusters Framework consists of 16 Career Clusters and related Career Pathways for students of all ages explore different career options and better prepare for college and career. Each Career Cluster represents a distinct grouping of occupations and industries based on the knowledge and skills they require. The 16 Career Clusters and related Career Pathways provide an important organizing tool for schools to develop effective programs of study (POS) and curriculum.

The 16 Career Clusters
Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources The production, processing, marketing, distribution, financing, and development of agricultural commodities and resources including food, fiber, wood products, natural resources, horticulture, and other plant and animal products/resources.

Architecture & Construction Careers in designing, planning, managing, building and maintaining the built environment.

Arts, A/V Technology & Communications Designing, producing, exhibiting, performing, writing, and publishing multimedia content including visual and performing arts and design, journalism, and entertainment services.

Business Management & Administration Careers in planning, organizing, directing and evaluating business functions essential to efficient and productive business operations.

Education & Training Planning, managing and providing education and training services, and related learning support services such as administration, teaching/training, administrative support, and professional support services.

Finance Planning and related services for financial and investment planning, banking, insurance, and business financial management.

Government & Public Administration Planning and executing government functions at the local, state and federal levels, including governance, national security, foreign service, planning, revenue and taxation, and regulations.

Health Science Planning, managing, and providing therapeutic services, diagnostic services, health informatics, support services, and biotechnology research and development.

Hospitality & Tourism Preparing individuals for employment in career pathways that relate to families and human needs such as restaurant and food/beverage services, lodging, travel and tourism, recreation, amusement and attractions.

Human Services Preparing individuals for employment in career pathways that relate to families and human needs such as counseling and mental health services, family and community services, personal care, and consumer services.

Information Technology Building linkages in IT occupations for entry level, technical, and professional careers related to the design, development, support and management of hardware, software, multimedia and systems integration services.

Law, Public Safety, Corrections & Security Planning, managing, and providing legal, public safety, protective services and homeland security, including professional and technical support services.

Manufacturing Planning, managing and performing the processing of materials into intermediate or final products and related professional and technical support activities such as production planning and control, maintenance and manufacturing/process engineering.

Marketing Planning, managing, and performing marketing activities to reach organizational objectives such as brand management, professional sales, merchandising, marketing communications and market research.

Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics Planning, managing, and providing scientific research and professional and technical services (e.g., physical science, social science, engineering) including laboratory and testing services, and research and development services.

Transportation, Distribution & Logistics The planning, management, and movement of people, materials, and goods by road, pipeline, air, rail and water and related professional and technical support services such as transportation infrastructure planning and management, logistics services, mobile equipment and facility maintenance.

Knowledge and Skill Statements
The Career Clusters are built upon a set of industry-validated expectations for what students should know and be able to do after completing instruction in a career program area. These statements reflect the expectations of postsecondary education and business and industry for entering into a career in a given area—and are used to guide curriculum, assessment, and program planning.

The latest Knowledge and Skills Statements are available for all careers in the 16 Career Clusters—and are organized into Career Pathways. Depending on the Career Cluster, the number of pathways for a given Career Cluster can vary from two to seven.

Plans of Study
Along with the development of the Career Clusters, NASDCTEc has created a series of plans for their implementation. The sample Plans of Study provide a resource for understanding the possible courses and educational experiences for students pursuing a program of study (POS). The models provided represent options within each of the 16 Career Clusters and Career Pathways and define the possibilities associated with each area. The programs of study are the courses and opportunities offered by the state, district, and school, while the plans of study represent the individual student choices associated with completing the program of study.

Crosswalks
In addition to the National Career Clusters Framework, the Department of Labor, Department of Education and others involved in career education have developed different several different taxonomies and coding systems. As part of the Career Clusters delivery program, cross walks have been developed to support the linkage of these different coding systems with the 16 Career Clusters and to assist in reporting, research and other applications.

Green/Sustainability Statements
A U.S. Department of Education funded project has been created to incorporate green- and sustainability-related knowledge and skills standards into the existing National Career Clusters Framework. States have the option to develop and implement career and technical education programs of study in one or more of the16 Career Clusters recognized by the Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE). These green/sustainability-related knowledge and skills have been identified to assist states and local programs to prepare individuals for green occupations by incorporating these knowledge and skills standards into the 16 Career Clusters. Further, specific standards also were developed for six Career Cluster areas that are likely to experience the greatest need for green workers: Agriculture, Food, & Natural Resources; Architecture & Construction; Information Technology; Manufacturing; Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics; and Transportation, Distribution, &Logistics.