About 800 high-school students in Oklahoma recently learned about careers in construction during the Central Oklahoma Home Builders Association's Build My Future OKC event. Company representatives were on hand to showcase construction skills and talk to students about joining the field.

K-12 schools in Arizona are partnering with the state's public universities to support teaching and learning, writes Kathy Hoffman, Arizona superintendent of public instruction. In this commentary, Hoffman writes that the partnership recently led to the formation of the Arizona Virtual Teacher Institute, a free, online professional development program for teachers statewide.

Linn-Mar High School in Iowa this year started a project-based learning program, Venture Program, which allows students to address real problems in their community and learn about careers. Elyssa McDowell, the high school's strategic partnerships coordinator, says the approach brings "learning to life."

National enrollment in undergraduate colleges and universities has declined by 3.2% since this time last year and a total of 6.5% since fall 2019, according to data released Tuesday by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. If this trend continues, it would mark the largest two-year decline in at least 50 years, said Doug Shapiro, the center's executive director.

The shortage of truck drivers has grown from 61,000 in 2018 to 80,000 now and could double to 160,000 by 2030 if challenges such as driver pay and high turnover are not solved, according to an American Trucking Associations report. "We have an aging workforce, a workforce that is overwhelmingly male, and finding ways to address those issues is key to narrowing the shortage," ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said.

Rental robots offer a low-risk starting point for manufacturers that aren't ready to commit to an equipment purchase, writes Ethan Karp, president and CEO of Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network, or MAGNET. "It can be daunting to take the first step if you're a company that has done things the same way -- and succeeded -- for years or decades," says Mike O'Donnell of MAGNET, which worked with a chemical company on its first robot rental.

Relevance, size and curation are key factors in making lifelong learning successful for workers, according to researchers at the London School of Economics. The team surveyed 15 top performers in continuing education across three companies to pinpoint problems -- such as finding time to complete courses and focusing on quick completion rather than subject mastery -- and offers suggestions for more optimal programs.

The number of oil exploration and production jobs in Texas increased for a fifth consecutive month in September, by 2,900 to 181,100, which is still 18% below January 2020 levels, according to Texas Workforce Commission data analyzed by the Texas Oil and Gas Association. "These jobs are not only among the highest paying jobs in Texas, these workers also play a direct role in our nation's energy security and our pursuit of a cleaner, stronger, better future," said TXOGA President Todd Staples.

Mark your calendar for these upcoming free webinars, covering innovative best practices and inclusion, access, equity and diversity (IAED) in CTE:

• How Virtual Patients are Reshaping Health Education, happening today, Oct. 27 at 5:30 p.m. ET.
• IGNITE Worldwide: Closing the Gender Gap in STEM on Dec. 8 at 2 p.m. ET.
• Transforming the Middle School Experience: A Community Approach to College and Career Readiness for Students in Grades Six Through Eight on Dec. 13 at 1 p.m. ET.
• Reclaiming Humanity: Services to Individuals who are Justice-involved or Incarcerated on Jan. 13 at noon ET.

Learn more and sign up to attend.

It is not too late to send a tweet to members of Congress urging them to support career and technical education (CTE) funding in the Build Back Better Act. Engage with your federal policymakers on Twitter today. Read more.