Photo above provided by Ingham ISD/Wilson Talent Center
The conversation around career development in Michigan schools is no longer solely about post-graduation planning; it’s a systematic, K-12 strategy rooted in the Michigan Career Development Model. This framework is crucial for local businesses, as it directly shapes the talent pipeline entering the Greater Lansing economy.
At the Wilson Talent Center, a career and technical education hub for Ingham County, the Michigan Career Development Model is integrated into every aspect of operations.
“Career development is designed to assist students in answering: Who am I? Where am I going? How will I get there? Who can help?” said Lindy Daman, WTC’s career preparation and assessment coordinator.
The Michigan Career Development Model is a legislative requirement for K-12 education, moving beyond the traditional eighth grade Educational Development Plan to a robust K-12 model. This shift requires districts to embed career awareness (elementary), exploration (middle school) and preparation (high school) across all curricula.
For WTC, which serves 11th and 12th graders from across Ingham County in 23 CTE programs, the Michigan Career Development Model provides the foundation. Associate Superintendent for CTE Jamie Engel noted that the goal of this early exposure is alignment.
“If the kids are given the right opportunities to explore different careers … the intent is they get into a program that fits what they want to do,” he said.
WTC transforms exploration into realworld competency. Instructors are industry veterans and college/university adjunct professors, bringing authentic experience to the classroom. The center facilitates workbased learning, placing students with local employers, and hosts extensive mock and real job fairs where students often secure jobs before graduation.
“From follow-up surveys, what we find in our programs is about 95% of our kids historically are on a career path of the CTE program that they were in at WTC, either with a full-time position or post-secondary education in that area,” Engel said.
This efficiency saves students time and money, proving that a CTE path, even if it leads to a career change, provides valuable transferable skills.
“Even if a student does not go into the field they started with here, they’re taking a lot with them; they’re taking life skills,” Daman said.
For the Greater Lansing business community, WTC is a vital talent solution. The center runs an advisory board for every program, where industry professionals provide feedback on necessary employee skills.
This collaboration creates an immediate talent pipeline.
“One of the nice things for local industries is that they can find employees and train them before they graduate and leave here,” Engel said.
In the immediate future, the focus is on a reporting system to track what’s being done target by target through the programs, seeing where adjustments can be made and sharing it statewide.
For more information, including job fair participation and how to offer internships, visit inghamisd.org/wtc.
