Career and Technical Education (CTE) Work-Based Learning Coordinator Brandilyn Gage-Steves has achieved SkillsUSA Career Essentials Certified Teacher status. She is now part of a national network of educators committed to preparing learners for success in the workplace. As a SkillsUSA Career Essentials Certified Teacher, Gage-Steves plans to use the Career Essentials curriculum as a turnkey tool with teachers to equip learners to define, implement and measure their career-readiness skills. The Career Essentials curriculum immerses students in the SkillsUSA Framework, a set of skills which empower students to achieve career success.

To complete this program, Gage-Steves engaged in a four-hour virtual class last spring then completed four certification assignments. These assignments included creating PowerPoint presentations, mapping out how she would build the culture for learning career essentials in her school, developing a management and reporting plan, detailing how she would differentiate learning to students’ needs, and devising a curriculum map for implementing the program.

Gage-Steves has been invested in the SkillsUSA program her entire teaching career. She has been co-manager of the NYS State Officer Team for the past 10 years, and school advisor and professional member for the past 17 years. She was a student member in high school and chapter officer in 1995 under the former club name of VICA (Vocational Industrial Clubs of America). Gage-Steves was named the NYS Area 1 Advisor of the Year in 2014 and the National Alumni of the Year in 2017.
 
“Our industry partners continuously request students who already have those career readiness skills,” said Gage-Steves. “It is easy for employers to continue teaching their craft once a student is in their shop, but they don’t have time to teach how to be a well-rounded employee. Our students will greatly benefit from the skills that come from the Career Essentials coursework no matter which career area they go in to. It is imperative that all students learn these skills prior to entering the workforce.”