Career and technical education is about helping students, workers and lifelong learners of all ages fulfill their working potential. First and foremost, it's about high school and college education that provides students with:
Academic subject matter taught with relevance to the real world, often called contextual learning.
Employability skills, from job-related skills to workplace ethics.
Education pathways that help students explore interests and careers in the process of progressing through school.
Career and technical education is a massive enterprise in the U.S. Thousands of comprehensive high schools, vocational and technical high schools, area vocational centers and community colleges offer career and technical education programs. Virtually every high school student takes at least one career and technical education course, and one in four students takes three or more courses in a single program area. One-third of college students are involved in career and technical programs, and as many as 40 million adults engage in short-term postsecondary occupational training.
Eighty-five years after the passage of the first piece of federal vocational education legislation, career and technical education is evolving from its original and sole focus on preparing students for work immediately following high school. Today's career and technical education programs increasingly incorporate rigorous and challenging academic content standards and provide a non-duplicative sequence of courses leading to an industry-recognized credential or certificate, or an associate or baccalaureate degree.
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/pi/cte/index.html
Locally, thousands of students participate in CTE programs in the Elmira City School District every year. We are very proud of this and look forward to continued growth and opportunities for student participation and success.