CPA PIPELINE
Encouraging accounting early: CPA firms can help What if there’s a way to get Virginia high school students into accounting firms before they enter college to see for themselves the rewards and benefits of a career in accounting or finance?
Spoiler: There is! Through the Virginia
Department of Education’s High-Quality Work Based Learning Program (HQWBL — yes, it’s a mouthful!), students can connect with accounting firms to complete internships and other training programs.
A HISTORY OF SUPPORTING CAREERS Preparing high school students for vocational and technical careers has a long history. The Smith-Hughes Act of 1917 promoted precollegiate vocational education and a variety of subsequent laws helped establish career and technical education (CTE) programs nationwide. CTE programs benefit students, parents, businesses and communities by providing students with actual credentials rather than a letter on a report card. Students have the potential to earn a stateissued professional license, industry certification, occupational competency assessment, and/or
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workplace readiness skills. The experience benefits students in the real world; Advance CTE reports that 77% of employers hire an employee in part because of their CTE experience. In fact, as a Virginia graduate requirement, students are required to either complete an Advanced Placement (AP) course, a dual credit course, or a CTE program. The Virginia Department of Education is kicking things up a notch by merging CTE with the HighQuality Work Based Learning program. Schools coordinate programs in partnership with businesses and organizations, with opportunities including job shadowing, service learning, internships, externships and more. These programs connect to Virginia’s 5 Cs — collaboration, communication, citizenship, creativity and critical thinking, while allowing students to apply the skills in a business or service-oriented work environment.
