Transylvania County Schools recently inducted 42 seniors and 10 juniors into the National Technical Honor Society (NTHS). This was the first year juniors were also included during the annual induction.
NTHS requires that students be nominated by Career and Technical Education (CTE) faculty and evaluated using demanding criteria. Selection for membership is indicative of outstanding performance and skill, as well as critical workplace values of honesty, responsibility, initiative, teamwork, productivity, leadership and citizenship.
Criteria include overall grade point average (GPA), as well as GPA in CTE courses, completing a career and technical pathway in the high school curriculum, and membership in one of many CTE clubs available at both high schools.
Nancy Stricker, CEO of Transylvania Vocational Services, reminded attendees that “fixers” will always be required in the workforce: those who possess a combination of technical skills required by today’s employers, especially mathematics and data analysis, communication and problem-solving.
Stenographers using shorthand may not exist anymore, but secret languages still occupy computer programmers, said Stricker. Popular roles of today, from cashiers to social media managers, may one day become obsolete. However, nothing will replace the importance of negotiating face-to-face interactions in the workplace.
“Communication has been, and always will be, the number one thing that employers are looking for,” said Stricker. “At some point, you’ll stop getting As, because when you go to a corporation, you won’t get grades. If they want you, they’ll keep you.”