What should career and technical education look like in five years?
Advance CTE, a national nonprofit organization that represents state CTE leaders, envisions a future where each student鈥檚 educational journey is 鈥渘ot a series of isolated steps but a connected path,鈥� according to a new vision the organization unveiled during its annual spring meeting held here from April 29 to May 1.
The new vision, titled 鈥�,鈥� comes as the demand for work-based learning and career and technical education opportunities grow. Enrollment in K-12 CTE programs increased 10% between the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years, from 7.8 million to 8.6 million students, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
More organizations that work in K-12 education are also investing in helping students see the many postsecondary pathways available to them. For instance, the College Board announced a partnership to expand the teacher pipeline for career-connected coursework and acquired a work-based learning company. Digital Promise launched a new center focused on connecting K-12 students to postsecondary success, workforce opportunities, and economic mobility.
As K-12, higher education, industry, nonprofits, and policymakers make more investments in CTE, there鈥檚 鈥渁 need for some coherence,鈥� said Kate Kreamer, the executive director of Advance CTE, in an interview with Education Week at the event.
The vision also comes at a time of uncertainty in the labor market and a rapidly changing economy because of the growing use of generative artificial intelligence.
鈥淭hings are moving faster than ever, and that just keeps getting faster and faster,鈥� Kreamer said. 鈥淪o there was an urgency in this [vision]. There does feel like this uncertainty of where is it all going? What is work going to look like?鈥�
That鈥檚 why Advance CTE鈥檚 vision focuses on better connecting students鈥� education with career opportunities, she said.
鈥淲e need to be connecting systems better, be more efficient and more intentional about how we鈥檙e working together,鈥� Kreamer said, highlighting that CTE programs are often segmented and misaligned. 鈥淲e also need to be creating better connection points for learners鈥攖hey may be living in a disconnected world, but CTE can really help connect them.鈥�
The career and technical education system needs to break down silos
The organization鈥檚 new vision centers around six principles that will serve as priorities in order for CTE programs to offer more connected pathways of career exploration and preparation that meet student and industry needs. In this vision, each learner:
- Engages in a coherent CTE system codesigned by education and industry;
- Participates in a CTE system that is transparent and accountable to all partners;
- Experiences a learning journey that seamlessly integrates CTE and core academics;
- Has access to personalized and flexible pathways;
- Develops a sense of empowerment and belonging through CTE; and
- Navigates ethical and innovative approaches to using emerging technologies.
Every five years, Advance CTE convenes a cross-section of leaders from education, the business world, philanthropy, and research to take stock of the CTE landscape and what they can do together to make progress. This is Advance CTE鈥檚 fifth vision since the early 2000s. It was developed with input from more than 200 national, state, and local CTE leaders, and more than 40 national organizations have signed on as official supporters and partners.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a great list of [priorities] that we should all be thinking about,鈥� said Walter Ecton, an assistant professor at the Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education at the University of Michigan and an expert on CTE. Ecton was not involved in the creation of Advance CTE鈥檚 vision.
鈥淧olicymakers, administrators, teachers鈥攔eally everyone in the school ecosystem鈥攕hould be thinking about these key tenets that [Advance CTE has] identified,鈥� he said.
Many CTE programs operate in silos, Ecton said. In many areas, there鈥檚 been a lack of coordination and alignment among K-12, post-secondary options, and the workforce. Each CTE program might be working in isolation, instead of coordinating with others. Having systems education and workforce partners collaboratively design would be beneficial for students and the companies who need skilled employees, he said.
CTE teachers and leaders have told Education Week that one of the biggest challenges in building a successful program is sustaining partnerships with companies and organizations as well as colleges and universities.
It鈥檚 also important to break down the silos between core academics and CTE classes, CTE experts said. The strongest CTE programs combine technical learning with academic skills, which prepare students later in life to change career paths if they choose to or need to.
This has been part of the CTE conversation for a long time, said Alisha Hyslop, the chief policy, research, and content officer for the Association for Career and Technical Education, which represents CTE professionals at all levels of education.
鈥淚 was excited to see this [vision] lift up the idea that there鈥檚 still work to be done,鈥� Hyslop said.
Linda Alvarez, a business teacher at the Windham Regional Career Center in Brattleboro, Vt., and the 2026 Vermont Teacher of the Year, said Advance CTE鈥檚 new vision includes principles that many classroom teachers are already using or know are important, but they could use the help of policymakers and the business world.
鈥淪omething that a lot of CTE teachers have been asking for is for schools to recognize that our programs are worth more than maybe one high school credit,鈥� she said during an interview with Education Week at the Advance CTE event. Policymakers at the state or local levels have control over which classes count for which credits.
That鈥檚 why, Alvarez said, it鈥檚 important that Advance CTE is bringing together CTE leaders to discuss, 鈥淗ow can we help states or districts realize that there are some really easy tweaks that could open up the availability of these classes to a lot more students?鈥�
Meaningful changes are necessary to achieve this vision
Achieving this vision would require everyone involved in CTE to buy in and work together, experts said.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of language throughout the vision about connecting. 鈥� The CTE system can鈥檛 do that alone,鈥� Hyslop said.
There will need to be infrastructural changes, as well as investments in resources, experts said.
When it comes to the goal of having more transparency and accountability, governments would have to be 鈥渨illing to make the investment in connecting these different data systems so that we can really understand the outcomes of these programs for students,鈥� Ecton said.
If students need to be prepared to navigate emerging technologies, then 鈥渢hat鈥檚 something we need to invest in,鈥� Ecton said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not reasonable to expect CTE teachers to be up to date on their own on all the ways that AI and emerging technology are impacting their industry. We need real professional development and support.鈥�
While bipartisan interest in CTE has grown in recent years, annual federal funding for career and technical education has remained level at roughly $1.5 billion since 2023. The Trump administration is proposing to carry over the same funding level for the upcoming fiscal year鈥攁mounting to a year-over-year cut after accounting for inflation.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon has repeatedly emphasized the importance of pathway alternatives to traditional higher education. The Department of Education last summer began shifting CTE funding programs to the Department of Labor, and is currently reviewing applications from state governors for .
Even so, the Trump administration last summer abruptly canceled more than $48 million in ongoing grant awards for CTE programs, including in Republican-led states. Funds from those grants will instead go toward the .
Advance CTE will work with the vision鈥檚 40 supporting organizations to examine which areas need more resources and attention, focusing on leveling up existing work rather than starting new projects from scratch, said Kreamer. Advance CTE will also provide resources and tools for the field as it works to achieve this vision in the next few years.
鈥淲e set pretty bold, ambitious [goals], knowing we may not get all the way there in five years, but at least it鈥檚 really pushing the field forward,鈥� Kreamer said.
