Business and Marketing Industry Sectors
The primary purpose of business education is to provide instruction for and about business. Students learn the basics of personal finance, develop techniques for making wise consumer decisions, master economic principles, and learn how businesses operate. In addition, business educators play a prominent role in developing the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary for students to succeed in the workforce. Further, business education courses provide the impetus for students to successfully complete college programs in one of several business areas.
The multifaceted discipline of business education includes subject matter areas that focus on the core areas of business (management, marketing, finance, accounting, entrepreneurship), on factors that affect business (economics, international business, business law), on basic skills (computation and communication), and on examining business from different perspectives.
One of the most important components of business education is information technology (IT). In this critical area students learn to use computers as tools in conjunction with related software. In addition, they learn to make decisions, to produce professional documents, to communicate via the Internet, and to research topics utilizing libraries around the world.
- Business and Marketing Program Summary
Provides information on services, funding, students served, and student benefits. - Business Education Resource Consortium (Outside Source)
- California Virtual Enterprise (Outside Source)
- California Business Education Association (CBEA) (Outside Source)
Information Technology Industry Sector
IT careers involve the design, development, support, and management of hardware, software, multimedia, and systems integration services. The IT industry offers a dynamic and entrepreneurial working environment that has had a revolutionary impact on the economy and on society. IT careers are available not only in the IT industry but also in every other sector of the economy, from agriculture and natural resources to transportation. Employment for IT support specialists is expected to increase faster than the average for all other occupations (by 18.5 percent by 2012) as organizations continue to adopt and integrate increasingly sophisticated technology. The IT sector contains some of the fastest-growing industries, such as software publishing, Internet publishing, service providers, Web search portals, and data-processing services.
IT careers are divided into four pathways: Information Support and Services, the foundation of all successful business organizations today; Media Support and Services, involving the creation, design, and production of multimedia products and services; Network Communications, involving network analysis, planning, and implementation; and programming and systemsdevelopment, involving the design, development, and implementation of computer systems and software.
- If you would like to receive IT Sector updates via e-mail notification, subscribe to the IT Sector Update listserve by sending a "blank" message to join-IT-update@mlist.cde.ca.gov.
- If you would like to unsubscribe from the IT Sector Update listserve, send a "blank" message to unsubscribe-IT-update@mlist.cde.ca.gov.
Additional Resources
- California Career Technical Education Model Curriculum Standards (PDF; 2 MB; 441pp.) May 2005 Edition
- California Career Technical Education Framework for California Public Schools (PDF; 5MB; 484pp.) 2007 Edition
- CTE on-line (Outside Source)
A resource devoted to connecting educators and leaders to quality professional development tools. - Student Organizations
Contact Information
Dennis J. Guido, Ph.D.
Education Administrator I
Business and Marketing Sectors
Kay Ferrier, Education Programs Consultant
Information Technology Sector
Gary Page, Education Programs Consultant
Career and Workforce Innovations Unit
Secondary, Career, and Adult Learning Division
California Department of Education
1430 N Street, Suite 4503
Sacramento, CA 95814
