Career & Technical Programs

Career and Technical Education (CTE)

As New Jersey considers plans to help our state create jobs and spur economic and workforce development, we hope that you will consider career and technical education as a reliable way to stimulate the economy and provide job growth. Career and technical education programs in high schools, community colleges and technical colleges are necessary in preparing and retraining students and displaced workers to become skilled contributors in the American economy.

Having highly skilled workers is critical to the success of our economy. By investing in career and technical education, you are giving America a tried and true solution to ensure that competitive skilled workers are ready, willing and capable of holding jobs in high wage, high skill, high demand career fields such as STEM disciplines, nursing, allied health, construction, information technology, energy sustainability, and many other areas that are vital in keeping our nation competitive in the global economy.

Career and technical education programs are revitalizing our communities by spurring cooperation and innovation between high schools, community colleges, and the business community to ensure that programs are being created quickly and efficiently so that students can be prepared for careers in fields where their skills are truly needed. Consider the following:

• CTE graduates are 10-15 percent more likely to be in the labor force, and earn 8-9 percent more than graduates of academic programs, according to a 2001 Russell Sage Foundation Report.
• The 2004 National Assessment of Vocational Education Final Report (the most recent report) found that postsecondary vocational education proved an effective means to higher income, as, even without attaining a credential, a single year of study brought 5-8 percent more earnings to postsecondary CTE students than to high school graduates with similar characteristics.
• Students at schools with highly integrated rigorous academic and CTE programs have significantly higher student achievement in reading, mathematics and science than do students at schools with less integrated programs, as reported by the Southern Regional Education Board.
• According to the state of Washington, for every dollar spent on secondary CTE students, federal and state governments will receive seven dollars back.

Statistics such as these emphasize the need for a strong career and technical education system to help students and adults prepare for 21^st century jobs.

Through the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act, career and technical education helps prepare youth and adults for the future by building their skills for the careers of today and tomorrow. We hope that you will join us in supporting the 190,084 students and countless displaced workers--the highest number in the past seven years enrolled in CTE programs--by investing in career and technical education.