CTE Programs Renewed Attention
US NEWS and World Reports covers Career and Technical Education. At some high schools in Northeast and Central Florida, students can work at a credit union hosted right on their school campus. Through its High School Branch Program, the Vystar Credit Union partners with area high schools to give students real-world management experience as they learn about credit, loans and saving. CTE Programs Renewed Attention.
The program, which has provided more than 2,200 paid internships since its introduction in 2006, is just one example of hands-on career and technical education programs, or CTEs, that introduce high schoolers to careers in banking and finance.
The guiding principle of “college for all” dating back to the 1990s has undergone a seismic shift in recent years. In earlier decades, as high schools encouraged students more toward four-year bachelor’s degrees, CTE received less emphasis than academic classes.
How CTE Has Evolved
In an era of rapid technological change and industry demand for skilled workers, CTE programs have become a national priority. As CTE awareness grows, student programs are being reimagined and interest is surging.
Gone are the days of vocational ed classes aimed at a narrow subset of students. Today’s CTE classes introduce high schoolers to a wide range of fields, from landscape design and data science to health sciences and business, helping students learn about career possibilities before they graduate. Well-designed CTE experiences offer training through work-based or internship-like experiences that in turn strengthen classroom engagement by connecting classroom concepts to the real world.
“What’s different today is that CTE is for all students,” says Alisha Hyslop, chief policy, research and content officer at the national Association for Career and Technical Education, a not-for-profit advocacy organization that supports state CTE leadership and programs. “CTE puts students on pathways to a wide variety of post-high school educational opportunities, whether that’s a job, apprenticeship, certificate, associate, bachelor or even graduate program. It really prepares students for the full array of career possibilities.”
Research indicates that many high schoolers lack clarity about post-high school plans, partly due to not understanding career options.
“The U.S. has deinvested or underinvested in this type of career navigation,” says Jeff Strohl, a research professor and director of Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce, which published a 2025 report on middle-skills jobs – those that don’t require a four-year degree.
But CTE classes could help get more people into careers by providing direction, according to a review by the CTE Research Network. The review found that students who took CTE classes were more likely to go on for a post-secondary credential.
Well-designed career-oriented coursework broadens a student’s career options even if they don’t pursue what they studied in high school, says Gary Hoachlander, a senior fellow at ConnectED: The National Center for College and Career. ConnectED focuses on career awareness and partners with districts across the U.S. to connect themed coursework to real-world applications, such as careers in health science or engineering.
“The focus on an industry sector like business or energy or innovation technology is to help students understand the real-world application, not force them to choose a career in that field,” Hoachlander says of ConnectED’s “linked learning” approach.
The best post-secondary educational path for a student depends on their goals, experts say.
“If a student wants to work as an electrician, an apprentice program or technical college might be the best opportunity,” Hyslop says, “but if they want to be a computer engineer, then they probably need to look at bachelor-degree programs in engineering.”
How States and Schools Provide CTE Programming
Career and tech program models range widely, from individual high school classes and state skills centers to dual-enrollment programs and specialized CTE high schools. Equipment-intensive classes requiring high-tech automotive or manufacturing labs might be available only at a central facility like a skills center, two-year college or possibly at a specialized high school.
In more than 40 states, students can take CTE classes through dual-enrollment programs at technical or community colleges to earn both high school and college credits, including an associate degree or industry certificate.
CTE Programs Renewed Attention. Here are some examples of what states and schools offer:
Tennessee
The state is nationally recognized for its CTE pathways and partnerships initiative that aligns CTE programs at the K-12 and post-secondary levels with state labor needs. Tennessee prioritizes funding for CTE students and actively collaborates with businesses and industries to promote work-based learning opportunities.
Colorado
Colorado has numerous state-level programs designed to prepare students for Colorado’s in-demand industries through work-based learning and industry-recognized credentials. The Homegrown Talent Initiative has expanded from eight communities in 2019 to more than 60 districts, connecting students in rural communities to local “career-connected learning opportunities” through career awareness, skill development and work-based learning experiences.
Ohio
In southwest Ohio, Butler Tech is an innovative public career and tech school district with four high school campuses that offer specialized programs in careers such as health sciences, aviation, automotive technology, business, construction and green engineering. Students aren’t limited to technical programs – they can take the ACT or SAT and academic coursework to prepare for attending a four-year college.
North Carolina
The state’s Wake Early College of Health and Science, part of the Wake County Public School System in Raleigh, is a magnet school focused on health sciences and offers an early college program. Students can graduate with a high school diploma, prerequisites for a health science degree, an associate degree and/or a health care certificate, along with tuition-free college credits that transfer to any of North Carolina’s public universities.
New York City
Aviation High School in Queens is a magnet school specializing in aviation careers. In addition to standard academic courses, students take classes in aviation and learn hands-on skills in a shop setting. They can go directly into a career in the industry or pursue more education at the postsecondary level.
Georgia
Opened in 2022, Seckinger High School in Gwinnett County is a public artificial intelligence-themed high school that offers regular academics through an AI lens. The high school is part of an AI-themed school cluster that includes three feeder elementaries and a middle school.
Scholarships for CTE
In a quest to meet local and regional industry workforce needs, some states have also created scholarships for specific career pathways. Here are a few examples:
South Carolina
The state offers the Workforce Industry Needs Scholarship, up to $5,000. To working South Carolina residents pursuing a diploma, certificate or degree from one of the state’s 16 technical colleges.
Iowa
The Last-Dollar Scholarship program supports eligible students enrolled in community college for designated “high-demand” occupation programs, including construction, health care, agriculture and early childhood education.
Delaware
The state’s SEED Scholarship operates similarly to Iowa’s last-dollar scholarship. Covering the gap after other aid has been applied for students enrolled in credit or noncredit programs. Leading to an associate degree or short-term certificate program at a community college.
Washington
The Opportunity Scholarship provides CTE, baccalaureate and graduate scholarships. With mentorship opportunities – to students going into eligible high-demand CTE, STEMand health care fields.
CTE Still Faces Challenges
States wrestle with common barriers, particularly funding and teacher recruitment and retention, Hyslop says.
CTE funding comes from federal, state and local sources, including industry and private partnerships, and investment varies widely. The federal Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act provides $1.4 billion annually.
“That is a very small investment. So the support structure for formalized CTE is much smaller than what we’re hearing about CTE,” Strohl says.
Sharply targeted CTE career guidance also remains a challenge at many schools, experts say. Students who don’t want to go on to college need to be well informed about available apprenticeship and credential programs. Strohl says, and that remains a challenge.
He suggests using the U.S. Department of Labor’s free online tool, My Next Move, for extra help.
Students can gain career awareness and transferable skills that will help them chart the postsecondary education they need, experts say. Important work skills that students gain through CTE include communication, problem-solving, collaboration and leadership.
“Earning an industry certification can give students a jumpstart on whatever is next in their educational career,” Hyslop says.
“Engaging in actual work related to careers they’re interested in not only builds technical skills but also those durable employability skills that employers are looking for.”
Source: CTE Programs Renewed Attention
Career and Technical Education Programs for High Schoolers
Once known as vocational schools, CTE classes and programs can prepare students for many career pathways.