We are proud to announce that Patrick Mineer, CEO of Golden Path Solutions, has been granted the Champion for CTE Impact Award.
This award recognizes outstanding individuals who have leveraged their influence to expand, improve, and promote Career & Technical Education (CTE) programs as a vital part of developing a prepared, adaptable, and competitive workforce.
As published in the 2023 NDCTE Professional Development Conference program:
“Patrick Mineer is the founder and CEO of Golden Path Solutions (GPS). Mineer started GPS to connect students with employers for career exploration and potential future employment with the option for tuition reimbursement and a guaranteed job for a student before graduating from high school. Mineer saw the need to connect the classes that a student is taking, their activities, and hobbies combined with a personality assessment to match them to industry related careers. This inspired him to create the Compass Assessment in GPS. Through Compass, GPS provides an innovative, modern workforce platform that unlocks every student’s natural talent and matches that talent with employers who desperately need it. And the results help students identify their skills and talents and make informed decisions on classes to take in high school, find career paths that match them, and learn about required training and education.
NDCTE partnered with GPS and XAP to develop the Work-based Learning (WBL) Module in RUReady. ND.gov. Working together maximized the resources already available from each partner –combining and enhancing them to create the streamlined WBL Module that connects students, educators, and employers. The WBL Module provides a system for employers to offer opportunities and information about themselves and connect those opportunities to students. NDCTE provides RUReady.ND.gov to all K-12 students, college students, and adults in the state at no cost. Since the WBL Module launch in August 2022, Mineer has been working tirelessly with employers across North Dakota, getting them on board – currently, almost 300 employers have created profiles in the system. Mineer has also been working with educators on how to use the system, ensuring that adoption is happening and that students benefit from the available system. The goal is that this leads to more work-based learning experiences, more career exploration, and better outcomes for students with NDCTE at the center.
Doing this work, Mineer realized that just about every career has a connection to a CTE class in high school and, as a result, started advocating that every student take a CTE class, no matter their interest. Whether it be computers, healthcare, agriculture, accounting, construction, or manufacturing, CTE classes give students a taste of these careers. GPS also works with employers, advocating every company why they should be working with their local schools and CTE teachers on content for these classes and the importance of getting involved.
The contributions Mineer and GPS are making to North Dakota’s framework for providing high-quality work-based learning experiences is a game-changer for North Dakota and is helping NDCTE with the element of building business and community partnerships. With Mineer’s help, NDCTE is helping students gain career knowledge, become informed of opportunities and workforce trends, and engage in educational and career planning.”
While this is an individual award, it wouldn’t be possible without the hard work and dedication of CTE, community partners, government partners, and the rest of the Golden Path team to help students and employers across North Dakota and beyond connect for a brighter future.
We are proud to be working together toward this worthy goal.
Thank you to North Dakota Career & Technical Education for this recognition, and for your continued partnership. We can’t wait to see what we accomplish next!
