Career Technical Education--Climbing the Way to Success

CTE Works for High School Students
High school students involved in CTE are more engaged, perform better and graduate at higher rates.
  • 81 percent of dropouts say relevant, real-world learning opportunities would have kept them in high school.
  • The average high school graduation rate for students concentrating in CTE programs is 90.18 percent, compared to an average national freshman graduation rate of 74.9 percent.
  • More than 70 percent of secondary CTE concentrators pursued postsecondary education shortly after high school.

CTE Works for College Students and Adults
Postsecondary CTE fosters postsecondary completion and prepares students and adults for in-demand careers.
  • 4 out of 5 secondary CTE graduates who pursued post-secondary education after high school had earned a credential or were still enrolled two years later.
  • A person with a CTE-related associate degree or credential will earn on average between $4,000 and $19,000 more a year than a person with a humanities associate degree.
  • 27 percent of people with less than an associate degree, including licenses and certificates, earn more than the average bachelor degree recipient.

CTE Works for the Economy
Investing in CTE yields big returns for state economies.
  • In Connecticut, every public dollar invested in Connecticut community colleges returns $16.40 over the course of students' careers. That state's economy receives $5 billion annually in income from this investment.
  • In Washington, for every dollar invested in secondary CTE programs, the state earns $9 in revenues and benefits.
  • In Tennessee, CTE returns $2 for every $1 invested. At the secondary level, CTE program completers account for more than $13 million in annual tax revenues.

CTE Works for Business
CTE addresses the needs of high-growth industries and helps close the skills gap.
  • The skilled trades are the hardest jobs to fill in the United States, with recent data citing 806,000 jobs open in the trade, transportation and utilities sector and 293,000 jobs open in manufacturing.
  • Health care occupations, many of which require an associate degree or less, make up 12 of the 20 fastest growing occupations.
  • STEM occupations such as environmental engineering technicians require an associate degree and will experience faster than average job growth.
  • Middle-skill jobs, jobs that require education and training beyond high school but less than a bachelor's degree, are a significant part of the economy. Of the 55 million job openings created by 2020, 30 percent will require some college or a two-year associate degree.


Source: " What is CTE?" What is CTE? N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2014.