Kirsten Dorman/KJZZ

The Arizona Education Economic Commission is a partnership between public and private entities, including government representatives from the Navajo Nation, Switzerland and Taiwan.

The Arizona Department of Education has launched a new commission to encourage workforce development and economic opportunities in industries like manufacturing and health care.

The Arizona Education Economic Commission is a partnership between public and private entities, including government representatives from the Navajo Nation, Switzerland and Taiwan. Delegates from other countries were present at the announcement to sign formal memorandums of understanding between their governments and the commission.

Maleah Davis is a junior at Western Maricopa Education Center. She says seeing people from all over the world come to Arizona to support career and technical education, known as CTE, was encouraging.

“I’m very excited to know that we are taking an interest and we are specifically going toward CTE, which is a very crucial part that isn’t widely available here,” Davis said.

Davis, who studies engineering, says she hopes the commission’s work will mean more women and other minoritized groups in fields where there aren't many of them yet.

“I want people, especially women and young girls, to know that it is okay to go into a career that you’re nervous about,” Davis said. “It’s okay to try new things. And I want to encourage other people to be leaders because good leaders build more leaders.”

Commissioners said they aim to increase the number of skilled workers in a variety of industries, like the manufacturing of chips at a new plant in Arizona.

Commission's proposed initiatives

• Align education with current and future demands by forging robust partnerships between CTEDs, adult education, community colleges, and businesses.
• Guarantee high quality CTE programs that meet industry needs through agreed upon measures.
• Increase CTE and adult education program completion.
• Create apprenticeship programs for adults and you apprenticeship (dual-track pathways) for high school and community college students.
• Create recruitment partnerships to ensure effect hiring of graduates.
• Evaluate and improve oversight mechanisms involving careful data collection and analysis.