ABSTRACT. Design thinking offers a human-centered, iterative approach to addressing complex workforce and educational challenges helping educators and researchers center stakeholder experiences, identify authentic needs and barriers, connect programs to evolving industry expectations, develop and test innovative solutions, amplify diverse voices, and translate research into practice. This interactive workshop introduces design thinking as a research method for investigating complex challenges in career and technical education. Grounded in human-centered inquiry, participants will engage in empathy mapping, problem framing, ideation, rapid prototyping, and iterative feedback to examine how stakeholder voices can inform the research process. An emphasis will be placed on collaborative approaches that make diverse perspectives visible, resulting in the generation of actionable research insights with the capacity to impact CTE.

ABSTRACT. Industry-recognized credentials have become an important part of Career and Technical Education as policymakers seek to strengthen the connection between secondary education and workforce needs. As Perkins V expanded accountability for CTE programs, IRCs helped programs demonstrate technical skill attainment. Research indicates that employers view industry-recognized credentials as valuable indicators of technical competence and workforce preparedness, particularly when they align with industry standards, but gaps remain, and this study addresses those gaps by examining and comparing the perceptions of employers and post-secondary institutions regarding the value, credibility, and usefulness of industry-recognized credentials earned by high school students. The findings will contribute state-specific evidence to support credential selection, improve alignment between education and workforce systems, and inform CTE policy and practice.

ABSTRACT. Career and Technical Education (CTE) exists at the intersection of education and labor market systems, creating policy challenges characterized by complexity, feedback loops, and non-linearities. This work-in-progress demonstrates how system dynamics (SD) modeling can complement traditional social science methods by extending two published CTE studies. The first vignette revisits school-industry partnerships for work-based learning, examining how relational trust and feedback processes influence long-term student opportunities. The second reevaluates persistent gender disparities in STEM-related CTE participation, exploring the effects of federal policy interventions and temporal delays. Using reference modes and causal loop diagrams derived from prior research, preliminary SD models illustrate how feedback structures can reveal mechanisms, generate new theoretical insights, and inform policy design.

ABSTRACT. Short-term CTE credentials are increasingly promoted as flexible pathways to workforce opportunities, yet little is known about how ethnically and racially diverse adults pursuing encore careers experience these programs. This proposed qualitative inquiry will explore the motivations, experiences, and perceptions of career mobility among adults aged 45 to 55 who are enrolled in or have completed short-term CTE credential programs at urban two-year institutions. Guided by Career Construction Theory, this study will examine participants’ vocational identity, career adaptability, and life themes across their past, present, and anticipated future career aspirations and experiences.

ABSTRACT. Internships are widely recognized as valuable work-based learning experiences, yet most research relies on retrospective interviews or surveys after the experience has ended. Consequently, relatively less is known about how students’ professional learning develops during internships. This qualitative study explores the experiences of marginalized high school students participating in IT internships through solicited weekly diaries. Guided by Career Capital Theory, diaries were analyzed using thematic analysis to examine developmental patterns across the internship. Initial findings suggest that students progressed through four developmental phases: workplace orientation, productive technical struggle, collaborative participation, and emerging professional identity. The study illustrates the value of longitudinal diary methods for capturing workplace learning as it unfolds and offers methodological and practical implications for work-based learning research.

ABSTRACT. Employability skills and workplace safety competencies have developed as largely separate literatures despite substantial behavioral overlap. This conceptual paper uses a theory-synthesis approach (Jaakkola, 2020) to examine how employability skills relate to workplace safety functions. Communication, teamwork, leadership, problem-solving, adaptability, and accountability align closely with the non-technical skills that underpin safe functions. Three points of convergence anchor the synthesis: safety climate and hazard reporting, safety leadership and organizational learning, and safer behaviors developed in CTE settings. A conceptual framework positions employability skills as antecedent competencies shaping workplace safety through safety climate, hazard recognition and reporting, safety learning, and safe work practices. The framework generates testable propositions linking CTE workforce preparation to workplace safety functions.

ABSTRACT. The purpose of this study is to determine if current high school and community college Automotive curriculums and recommended course sequences are aligned to be in the best interest of both students and community partners – employers. Over 200 Automotive employers were surveyed about what they value in automotive technician applicants. These survey questions focus on which automotive industry-recognized certifications (IRCs) are offered by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE).

ABSTRACT. Community college students represent an important but underused source of engineering talent. This exploratory and qualitative study examines how employers interpret the readiness of students pursuing engineering through community college transfer pathways and how those perceptions affect access to paid work experiences. Data were drawn from more than a year of interviews and discussions with over two dozen engineering employers. Findings suggest that employers generally recognize students’ potential but rely on familiar signals, including institutional setting, prior professional exposure, and workplace polish, to manage perceived risk. Four themes describe how recruiting structures obscure talent and how structured, paid exposure can shift employer perceptions. The study reframes readiness as a system-produced condition rather than a student deficit.

ABSTRACT. The U.S. has long emphasized STEM as essential to economic growth and infrastructure, with these fields offering high wages and fast job growth. However, most research on building the STEM workforce focuses on traditional degree pathways and emphasizes identity development through education, skills, and recognition in academic settings. These spaces can both support and hinder who is seen as belonging in STEM, often reinforcing stereotypes about who can succeed. Notably, the skilled technical workforce -making up about 74% of the U.S. STEM workforce and often earning strong wages - remains underexamined. This study explores how technical workers perceive themselves in a large research facility, aiming to better understand and strengthen this critical, yet overlooked segment of the STEM workforce.

ABSTRACT. Career and technical education (CTE) teachers possess occupational skills that are transferable to employment outside education, yet little is known about how local labor market conditions influence their turnover decisions. This study examines the relationship between local labor market conditions and CTE teacher turnover using statewide administrative data from Florida public schools between 2019 and 2023. Results indicate that stronger labor demand, reflected in firm job gains and net job growth, is associated with higher teacher turnover, whereas higher unemployment, greater firm job losses, and larger WARN-reported layoffs are associated with greater teacher retention. These relationships also vary across CTE career clusters, suggesting that local labor market conditions influence some occupational fields more than others.

ABSTRACT. A wealthy of existing studies suggested various education levels yield to the variation in economic returns. It is widely acknowledged that higher level of education result in higher income. Yet, these questions remain unresolved with regard to the specific benefits of different categories of education associated with other contributing factors. This paper will specifically investigate the impact of training motivation in workplace on post-college earnings by analyzing the data from 2021 National Survey of College Graduates. The findings show that workers who engage in mandatory training are often in lower-salaried, entry-level roles. Additionally, the underlying psychological factors for participating in workplace training play a crucial role in determining its actual economic return.

ABSTRACT. This study examines the impact of the quantity of post-secondary experiences of SBAE teachers on their perceived value of teaching electrical skills, and the study was undergirded by Human Capital Theory (HCT; Becker, 1964). To evaluate the post-secondary electrical experience of SBAE educators, and perceived importance of electrical skills, the researchers developed a paper-based survey. The SBAE teachers were given a survey before and after an electrical workshop, to measure any changes in perceived value of electrical skills due to the additional professional development experience of an electrical skills workshop. This study found for most electrical skills an insignificant correlation between the relative quantity of electrical educational experience of SBAE educators and the perceived importance of teaching these electrical skills.

ABSTRACT. This qualitative case study examined how graduate students in a Career and Technical Education (CTE) policy course used multiple generative AI tools to analyze a 21st-century CTE curriculum framework. Students applied a standardized prompt across ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot, compared outputs using a multi-LLM matrix, and wrote a rationale grounded in the assigned article and professional context. Analysis of 11 student artifacts identified patterns of reduced entry barriers, attention to omissions, verification, and context-bound judgment. In this activity, GenAI functioned as a fast-thinking partner when learners were required to compare, question, verify, and justify AI-generated claims.

ABSTRACT. This study examines how federal “innovation ecosystem” initiatives are reshaping workforce education and CTE policy. It analyzes how the NSF's extremely large grants from the Regional Innovation Engines program interact with established CTE systems using innovation ecosystem and Advocacy Coalition Framework perspectives. Using interviews with three teams proposing NSF Engines projects, documents, meeting records, and state Perkins V plans to compare stakeholder engagement and workforce strategies. Findings reveal substantial variation: some projects sought to expand community college partnerships, while others relied on industry-led programs, and some bypassed existing providers to build new systems. Results suggest that emerging technology workforce initiatives are creating new networks for policy partnerships, increasing the influence of nontraditional actors, and reframing CTE as innovation policy.

ABSTRACT. This study examines a systematic literature review to consolidate and critically examine empirical studies investigating the relationship between AI and career outcomes. Using the PRISMA guideline, 96 studies have been systemically reviewed in terms of sample characteristics, grounded theories, research designs, data structures, measures, and analysis methods. Our findings show that AI influences career outcomes across the lifespan, from middle school students to working adults. AI literacy and AI awareness were the most frequently examined AI-related constructs, followed by behavioral dimensions (use and adoption) and affective dimensions (anxiety, attitudes, efficacy, and trust). job (in)security was the most frequently examined construct, followed by entrepreneurship and employability. Finally, we synthesized the key findings into an integrated framework, followed by discussions.

ABSTRACT. Career and Technical Education (CTE) requires a coordinated research agenda to guide future scholarship, policy, and practice in response to evolving workforce and educational needs. This symposium presents the development of a national CTE research agenda using a Delphi study that engaged experts from across the field to identify and prioritize the most important areas for future research. Presenters will describe the Delphi methodology, the consensus-building process, and the resulting research priorities, while discussing their implications for research funding, doctoral education, and collaboration among researchers and practitioners. The symposium will also examine how the research agenda can strengthen the evidence base supporting CTE and better align research with workforce and economic development priorities.

ABSTRACT. Between legislative reforms, varying district and community environments, and more jobs projected to need skills training, this is a time of significant upheaval in Washington’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) world. To explore the current landscape, we are conducting a two-wave mixed methods study. We have completed 31 interviews with CTE professionals about (1) their CTE journey, (2) successes and challenges in their classroom, (3) the state of school and district CTE programming, (4) continuing COVID-19 impacts on students and teaching, and (5) student workforce readiness. Preliminary findings show considerable variability in funding and support between schools and continued student mental health and motivation COVID-related impacts. The second wave follows up on these findings with a larger survey.

ABSTRACT. The findings from this study suggest that targeted professional development plays an important role in shaping how SBAE teachers perceive the importance of electrical skills and the tools required to teach them effectively. Prior to participating in the electricity workshop, relationships between the quality of teachers' post-secondary training and the perceived importance of having appropriate instructional tools were generally weak and not statistically significant. Following the workshop, however, several significant positive relationships emerged across all four electrical constructs. These findings indicate that hands-on professional development may help teachers better recognize the instructional value of electrical competencies while reinforcing the importance of having appropriate laboratory tools and equipment to support safe, effective instruction.

ABSTRACT. Community college engineering students often face academic, social, and structural barriers when preparing to transfer to four-year institutions. This study evaluates Growth Sector’s Engineering Core Summer Bridge program using matched pre- and post-survey data from 87 students across eight community colleges. Exploratory factor analysis identified six constructs related to engineering readiness and belonging, and a repeated-measures MANOVA assessed change following participation. Students reported significant gains in engineering and technical competence, transfer readiness, representation and impostor experiences, and persistence and resource confidence. Math efficacy did not change significantly, while engineering career curiosity decreased slightly. Findings provide preliminary evidence that structured pre-transfer interventions may strengthen academic and social integration, although the small sample and absence of a comparison group limit causal interpretation.

ABSTRACT. The purpose of this study is to identify if a relationship exists between the electricity curriculum available to teach and perceived importance of teaching key electricity competencies prior to and after attending a workshop.Overall, the findings showed no significant relationship between curriculum and perceived importance prior to the workshop, but consistent positive relationships existed after the workshop. The workshop offered hands-on training that helped teachers recognize the relevance of their curriculum and strengthened alignment between prior training and perceived importance of teaching electricity.

ABSTRACT. Career and technical education (CTE) research addresses diverse scientific purposes, yet little attention has been given to how research questions shape knowledge generation and evidence selection. This study developed a Question–Evidence Alignment Framework by classifying 92 research questions from 51 empirical and evidence-synthesis articles published in Career and Technical Education Research (2021–2026). Using qualitative content analysis, nine categories of research questions were identified based on scientific purpose. Building on this taxonomy, the proposed framework conceptualizes disciplinary knowledge development as a sequential process in which research questions define scientific purpose, scientific purpose determines knowledge generation, and knowledge requirements guide evidence, methodology, and analysis. The framework provides a foundation for evaluating, synthesizing, and advancing the cumulative knowledge base of CTE research.

ABSTRACT. The purpose of this study was to investigate if relationship between the ability to perform electricity skills and SBAE teachers’ perceived importance to teach electricity within the SBAE curriculum exists. We can conclude that the SBAE teachers’ ability to perform electrical skills prior to attending the workshop had no statistical relationship with what the teachers perceived to be important to teach. Identifying that electrical skills were important to teach and lacking the ability to perform said skills was most likely the driving force in participating in the summer workshop. We can conclude that participating in the workshop fostered a statistically significant relationship between the SBAE teachers’ ability to perform electrical skills and what teachers perceived to be important to teach.

ABSTRACT. Understanding the realities of poverty is essential for future FCS educators who will serve students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. This poster describes the use of a poverty simulation as an innovative teaching strategy in an undergraduate FCS teacher education course. The simulation provided participants with an immersive experience navigating financial, social, and logistical challenges commonly faced by families living in poverty. Data from pre- and post-simulation surveys and student reflections were used to assess changes in attitudes and learning outcomes. Findings suggest the simulation increased empathy, enhanced understanding of structural barriers, and strengthened professional readiness to support students experiencing poverty. The project demonstrates the potential of experiential learning strategies to enrich teacher preparation across CTE disciplines.

ABSTRACT. This study aims to introduce for-profit postsecondary vocational education with an emphasis on instructor's abilities to aid in the self-actualization of vocational nursing students into the field of nursing. Additionally, the study seeks to ensure the validity of the quantitative instrument used in collecting the data on student's self-actualization.

ABSTRACT. Personnel selection research has demonstrated the value of structured hiring practices; however, little is known about how hiring decision-makers in small skilled trade businesses determine which applicants advance to the interview stage. This exploratory qualitative study examines pre-interview selection decision-making among owners and managers in electrical, plumbing, HVAC, construction, and related skilled trade businesses. Guided by Person-Job Fit theory, the study will utilize semi-structured interviews with approximately 10–15 hiring decision-makers to explore applicant evaluation criteria, screening practices, and factors influencing interview selection decisions. Findings are expected to inform the development of an initial conceptual framework describing pre-interview selection decision-making in small skilled trade businesses and provide implications for workforce development, hiring practices, and career and technical education.

ABSTRACT. Student engagement is a strong predictor of academic success, skill development, and persistence in Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs. CTE instructors play a vital role in preparing students with technical knowledge, employability skills, and problem-solving abilities for success in postsecondary education and today's workforce. However, maintaining student engagement while balancing rigorous technical instruction, diverse learner needs, and evolving industry expectations remains an ongoing challenge. As instructional practices continue to evolve, educators need innovative approaches that extend beyond traditional demonstration and lecture to involve learners, encourage critical thinking, and create hands-on learning experiences that connect content to real-world applications.

ABSTRACT. Career and Technical Education (CTE) leaders face increasing demands to navigate policy changes, technological innovation, workforce alignment, and organizational transformation, yet little is known about their preparation in change management. This pilot mixed-methods needs assessment examined leaders' familiarity with change management frameworks, perceptions of organizational readiness, and professional development preferences. Findings indicated low familiarity with established frameworks despite substantial leadership experience. Communication and stakeholder management emerged as the greatest challenge, while respondents preferred hybrid, practice-oriented professional development with coaching and peer interaction. Limited use of structured evaluation methods further highlighted gaps in change capacity. Guided by Diffusion of Innovations and complementary change theories, the study supports developing a stackable professional development program to strengthen change management competency among CTE leaders.

ABSTRACT. Career and Technical Education (CTE) has traditionally focused on preparing students for regional workforce needs. As agribusiness becomes increasingly interconnected through global markets, supply chains, and international collaboration, students also need a global perspective. This teaching innovation introduces the Local-to-Global Framework, a four-stage model that transforms faculty professional development into globally focused curriculum and student learning experiences. Drawing on experiences from the Stanford EPIC Community College Faculty Fellowship and a Fulbright Specialist project in Japan, I developed curriculum modules comparing the rice industries of Northern California and Japan. The framework provides a practical, adaptable approach for preparing CTE students for an interconnected agribusiness workforce.

ABSTRACT. Beginning school-based agricultural education (SBAE) teachers often enter the profession with limited experience in departmental collaboration, conflict resolution, and program management. This innovative instructional activity uses progressively complex, real-world role-play scenarios to strengthen preservice teachers' self-efficacy before entering the classroom. Fifty-four students participated in simulated agricultural education departments that addressed authentic challenges involving FFA, SAE, facilities, personnel, student support, and stakeholder communication. Participants completed a modified Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale (TSES) following the experience. Results indicated increased confidence in programmatic decision-making, with 40.35% reporting they could have "quite a bit of influence" on departmental decisions. This low-cost, easily implemented strategy provides authentic collaborative practice while preparing future agricultural educators for the complex responsibilities of SBAE programs.

ABSTRACT. Hispanic female agricultural educators remain underrepresented despite serving an increasingly diverse student population. Guided by Self-Determination Theory, this study examined how autonomy, competence, and relatedness influence the motivation and retention of Hispanic female agricultural educators. A modified Intrinsic Motivation Inventory was administered to 28 in-service teachers in California. Participants reported high levels of competence and generally high levels of autonomy, indicating confidence in their instructional, FFA, and Supervised Agricultural Experience responsibilities. However, perceptions of relatedness were more variable, suggesting that feelings of connection and belonging within the profession may be lacking. Findings highlight the importance of culturally responsive mentoring, inclusive professional communities, and supportive workplace environments to improve job satisfaction, strengthen teacher retention, and diversify the agricultural education workforce.

ABSTRACT. Since 1983, automotive program quality in the United States has been guided by accreditation standards developed through the National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation (NATEF), now the ASE Education Foundation. Since then, educational research has advanced substantially in competency-based education, authentic assessment, quality assurance, and standards development. However, limited research has examined how these advances can be systematically synthesized into accreditation standards for automotive education. This study employs Design-Based Research, guided by the principles of isology, to develop an evidence-based framework for automotive program quality. A systematic literature review and qualitative content analysis will identify recurring quality domains and standards, which will be synthesized into evidence-based automotive program quality standards and an Automotive Program Quality Index (APQI) to support continuous improvement.

ABSTRACT. As photo-editing technologies become increasingly accessible, understanding students’ perceptions of photographic reality is critical for career and technical education’s digital media programs. This study validated the Photographic Reality Questionnaire (PRQ), an instrument designed to measure high school students’ ontological beliefs about photographic reality. Instrument development included expert review, readability analysis, a pilot test (n = 39), and a field test (n = 106) with U.S. youth ages 15–18. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported a two-factor structure distinguishing minimally altered images from more extensively manipulated photographs. Content and face validity were established, and reliability was acceptable (α = .71). The PRQ provides a valid tool for examining ontological beliefs and offers a model for developing discipline-specific instruments across disciplines.

ABSTRACT. The STEAM Agriscience curriculum consists of five lessons designed to guide students through the research process while integrating agricultural applications. Structured curriculum materials help teachers incorporate scientific inquiry into agricultural classrooms while reducing lesson preparation demands (Nelson et al., 2022). Each lesson includes pre-recorded lecture videos, downloadable PowerPoint presentations, student notes, homework assignments, teacher notes, and hands-on classroom activities or experiments. Students that participate in inquiry-based agricultural instruction report increased engagement and improved understanding of course content (Baldock & Murphrey, 2020). The curriculum is designed to be flexible, allowing teachers to implement lessons individually or as a complete unit.

ABSTRACT. CTE programs face growing demand for flexible, high-quality instructional models amid evolving workforce expectations, changing student demographics, and advancing educational technology. While flexible delivery models have expanded across higher education, questions remain about their impact on the learning experience and course satisfaction.

This poster presents an institutional evaluation of ActiveFlex, a flexible instructional model designed to increase access while maintaining engagement and quality. Using course evaluation data, the study compares learner perceptions from ActiveFlex and traditionally delivered courses in the College of Education, focusing on satisfaction, instructor effectiveness, engagement, and perceived learning.

Findings show that an intentionally designed flexible environment can match or exceed satisfaction in traditional formats, with implications for CTE programs seeking to expand access without compromising quality.

ABSTRACT. Community colleges increasingly rely on career-switching Career and Technical Education (CTE) faculty to address workforce shortages in high-demand fields. Although these instructors bring extensive industry expertise, many enter teaching with limited pedagogical preparation. This qualitative narrative inquiry explored the first-year experiences of seven career-switching CTE instructors at community and technical colleges in Louisiana. Guided by Transformative Learning Theory, Communities of Practice, Self-Efficacy Theory, and Andragogy, the study examined identity reconstruction, instructional adaptation, and institutional support. Narrative analysis revealed five cross-participant themes: identity reconstruction, translating industry expertise into teaching practice, isolation and institutional integration, confidence development, and meaning and purpose. Findings highlight the importance of intentional onboarding, mentoring, and sustained professional development to strengthen faculty success and retention.

ABSTRACT. How effective are pathways between high school MLR and college MAST programs? That depends largely on how well colleges set up their Automotive pathway curricula with feeder high school programs in mind.

ABSTRACT. This study examines the role of folklórico in postsecondary education and its impact on cultural preservation, identity formation, and representation among Latinx students. While existing scholarship on folklórico focuses on specific regional dances, personal narratives, and community experiences, there is a significant gap regarding folklórico and education, especially postsecondary education. With ethnic music and dance programs becoming more popular in K-12 schools, it is logical to expand those programs into postsecondary education. This study seeks to address that gap by exploring student and alumni experiences in a postsecondary Mexican Folk Dance program.

ABSTRACT. Return on investment, drawn from business and industry, is increasingly applied to higher education. Prevailing frameworks emphasize earnings and employment while overlooking outcomes students value. This study introduces a multidimensional Educational Return on Investment (EROI) model and provides preliminary empirical support using survey data from 202 current and recent postsecondary students, predominantly working adult learners. Five reflective dimensions were measured: personal growth, career value, financial ROI, institutional trust, and flexibility and support, with strong internal consistency (α = .89 to .94). Students rated personal growth and career value highest and financial ROI and institutional trust lowest. Findings support conceptualizing educational ROI as a multidimensional construct with implications for CTE and workforce education, accountability systems, and how institutions communicate value.

ABSTRACT. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the quality of post-secondary training before and after an electricity workshop on SBAE teachers' perceived level of importance to teach electricity within the SBAE curriculum. There was a negative statistical relationship between the importance to teach electricity and the quality of post-secondary education received by the participants. Therefore, we can conclude that the participants recognized the importance of teaching electricity and sought out additional professional development despite the lack of quality training received during their teacher preparation program.

ABSTRACT. The skilled trades sector, and particularly the field of welding, faces a persistent gender gap. Specifically in the welding industry, there is predicted to be nearly 468,100 employees needed by 2032 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2023). This shortage is likely due to more welding positions being created and older welders beginning to retire. Developing a post-secondary student-led welding certification event for high school students can provide an outlet to promote opportunities and careers in the welding industry helping reduce the employment deficit.

ABSTRACT. Senate Bill 801 (SB801) was proposed in response to the widespread agricultural illiteracy among youth, with the intention of promoting growth in society's understanding of agriculture. SB801 required the State Education Agency (SEA) to collaborate with the Department of Agriculture and other nonprofits with subject-matter expertise to develop an agricultural education curriculum for elementary education. Additionally, the SEA was tasked with creating a list of programs approved by both the agency and the State Board of Education, made available to elementary schools at no cost to the district or open-enrollment charter school.

ABSTRACT. Instructors recognized the need to create a more integrated, production-focused environment where students could apply skills collaboratively, solve real problems, and engage in workflow processes that reflect those in professional shops. This need served as the foundation for redesigning the course structure to incorporate project-based learning, industry collaboration, and team-oriented production systems. The redesign of the welding course was centered around the fabrication of commercially viable products, such as takedown grills, rocket stoves, and fire pits. Designs were revised to match available CNC sheet sizes and equipment constraints, considering efficient material use and workplace practicality. Division of labor, project timelines, and quality control were highlighted, all of which are key elements of industry-ready instruction.

ABSTRACT. During the 2025–2026 academic year, six community colleges from across the United States participated in a pilot implementation of a new automotive performance-based assessment model leading to new industry-recognized certifications. This poster describes the pilot, preliminary findings, and lessons learned for institutions interested in implementing performance-based assessment.