Utah high schools · CTE
Durable skills are one of the four goals in Utah's CTE strategic plan. AbilityArc gives IT and cybersecurity students a place to learn and practice them, inside the Computer Systems and cyber courses you already teach. We're right here in Orem.
USBE's CTE Strategic Plan for 2024–2029 has four goals, and Goal 4 is durable skills. USBE plans to integrate durable skills into the strands and standards of each CTE course and to update skills assessments to measure them in the context of content.1
USBE CTE features one Utah Durable Skill each month in its CTE Directions newsletter, with classroom ideas for teachers. Skills featured so far include communication, innovation, leadership and professionalism.2
Computer Systems 1 and 2 include a standard on communication and professionalism, including dealing with difficult customers. Both list communication, problem solving, teamwork and critical thinking as workplace skills to be discussed, taught and reinforced.4
In Computer Systems 1, the communication and professionalism strand is 2 of the 32 points on skill test 884. Most class time goes to the technical strands, so the people side of IT support gets squeezed.4
Two courses, Durable Skills: PC Technician and Durable Skills: Cybersecurity Analyst, built on three things.
8 IT and security professionals teach the lessons on video, including Don Crawley, The Compassionate Geek®.
Not just communication: resilience, growth mindset, leadership, character and more, one chapter each.
34 voice and chat simulations of real IT conversations: a frustrated user, a manager who needs an answer, a teammate who's checked out. Students get feedback after every try.
Both courses run on the AbilityArc Learning Platform beside a technical course, with no new section to schedule. These are the Utah courses they pair with best.
11 chapters · 13 simulations
Pairs with
Students practice the communication and professionalism standard out loud: calming a frustrated user, explaining a fix without jargon and owning a mistake.
10 chapters · 21 simulations
Pairs with
Students brief a manager on a vulnerability, work as an incident-response team and talk through ethics cases.
Most LEAs fund courseware like ours from money they already have for CTE. Your business office decides what fits; these are the sources Utah CTE programs use.
Utah's CTE add-on pays for the added costs of approved CTE programs. Board rule R277-911 lists program instructional materials among the allowable costs, as long as they're directly related to an approved CTE program and supplement, not supplant, other funds.6
In March 2026, the APEX Center Grant Program (created by HB 447 in 2025) sent $100 million to 29 Utah districts and charter schools to expand career and technical education.7
Perkins V can also pay for CTE curriculum when it fits your local needs assessment. Ask your CTE director.
“AbilityArc really gave us the content and material that allowed us to have some structured coursework for those skills. It really has helped fill a gap that the technical training has left.”
No. You keep your technical course. AbilityArc is the part where students practice the conversations of IT and security work, and you get a score for it.
No. The courses teach durable skills inside IT and cyber job scenarios. They sit beside your technical course, which prepares students for the skill tests and industry certifications.
Before your students log in, we work through your LEA's data-privacy agreement and AI-use review with you. We can send our privacy packet.
Yes. Students earn a badge for each chapter and an AbilityArc Certificate of Completion when they finish the course, something they can add to a portfolio or a job application. It isn't an industry certification or a state-recognized credential, and each student decides whether to share it.
Yes. Instructors get free access to every chapter of both courses, so you can see exactly what students will do.
Directly from AbilityArc with a purchase order, paid by check or ACH. Per-student, teacher and campus licenses are available. Request academic pricing and we'll send a quote.
Tell us about your IT or cybersecurity program. We're based in Orem and will get back to you within one business day.
Prefer email? Write to support@abilityarc.com or call 801-318-6915.
Last reviewed November 13, 2026. State rules and grant programs change, so check with the agency before you rely on a detail.