The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) recently released new employment projections for 2023-33 for 832 different occupations across a variety of industries. The projections show that CTE occupations are among both the fastest-growing jobs and the jobs with the most expected openings. 

Fastest-growing jobs (Growth rate projected, 2023-33): 

• Wind turbine service technicians: 60% 

• Solar photovoltaic installers: 48% 

• Physical therapist assistants: 25% 

• Occupational therapy assistants: 22% 

Most new jobs (Number of new jobs projected, 2023-33): 

• Medical assistants: 118,000 

• Construction workers: 115,400 

• Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers: 102,000 

• Electricians: 84,300 

In a new addition to the employment projections, the BLS is now reporting on the most relevant skills for occupations, including cross-cutting and employability skills: 

The addition of these skills in the employment projections will allow jobseekers, employers, career counselors, students and others to identify occupations that match skill sets, better preparing for job applications or adjust new employee training. 

A few examples of occupations that score highly on these skills include the following: 

• Adaptability: Career counselors, film and video editors, meeting planners and CTE teachers 

• Detail oriented: Air traffic controllers, phlebotomists, public safety telecommunicators and aerospace engineering technicians 

• Project management: Construction managers; transportation, storage and distribution managers; farmers and ranchers; and early childhood educators 

For more information on occupations, including details on educational requirements, pay, projected growth rates and more that you can share with your colleagues, students and families, please refer to the Occupational Outlook Handbook. 

This week, Congress continued to work on FY 2025 appropriations as we quickly approach September 30, the end of the fiscal year. The House of Representatives rejected a continuing resolution that would have extended current federal funding for an additional six months, and is now working toward a shorter compromise to avoid a government shutdown. See the CTE Policy Watch Blog for further updates. Meanwhile, Administration activities continued. Keep reading for more details! 

• Reps. Langworthy, Thompson and Bonamici Introduce the CTE Student Mental Health and Wellness Act: ACTE endorsed the CTE Student Mental Health and Wellness Act, which would prioritize CTE students’ mental health and wellbeing by making CTE schools eligible for mental health and substance use disorder services grants. 

• Chair Aaron Bean to Hold Hearing on Improving Teacher Preparation: Next week, the House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education will hold a hearing “Innovative Teacher Preparation: Properly Equipping America’s Educators.”  

• House Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development to Hold Hearing on FAFSA: Next week, the House Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development will hold a hearing to examine the challenges and outcomes of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.  

• Reps. Graves and Spanberger Force a Floor Vote on the Social Security Fairness Act: The Social Security Fairness Act, which would repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) has progressed in the House. Following a seven-day waiting period, Congress can call for a vote on the legislation.  

• Department of Education Announces Awards Nearly $50 Million to Hispanic-Serving Institutions: The Department of Education announced awards to support Hispanic and Latino students and the schools that prepare them for the workforce. Several community colleges received funding to expand educational opportunities and improve the attainment of Hispanic students. 

• Department of Education New Resource: The Department of Education released “Implementing Holisitc Advising and Wraparound Services to Equitably Improve Postsecondary Student Success: Playbook” and announced an accompanying webinar for October 2. This provides higher education leaders with resources to implement comprehensive and integrated advising models to support students in postsecondary institutions.  

• Department of Labor Announces Grants to Promote Workplace Safety, Health Training and Education: The Department of Labor awarded $12.7 million to 102 nonprofits nationwide, including some CTE institutions, to fund education and training initiatives designed to create safer workplaces. 

• Department of Labor Updated Resource on Rehabilitation and WIOA Youth Programs Collaboration: The Department of Labor updated a webcast series with an overview of the WIOA Youth and Vocational Rehabilitation programs to help state and local workforce leaders to collaborate and service youth with disabilities. 

The Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education recently released 2022-23 enrollment and performance data for secondary and postsecondary CTE participants and concentrators.

The 2022-23 enrollment and performance data, alongside fiscal information, can be accessed on the Perkins Collaborative Resource Network’s recently revitalized website:

• Fiscal information showing funding distributions nationally and in each state (can also be found under the “Grant Programs” tab as “State Profiles”).
• National enrollment data showing national totals for secondary and postsecondary CTE participants and concentrators, which can be disaggregated by gender, race/ethnicity, special populations, and Career Clusters.
• National performance data showing national averages for each performance indicator for secondary and postsecondary levels, which can be disaggregated by gender, race/ethnicity, special populations, and Career Clusters.
• State enrollment and performance data, which can also be disaggregated by gender, race/ethnicity, special populations and Career Clusters (both can also be found under the “Accountability” tab in the “Perkins State Plans and Data Explorer”).

Several takeaways from the data are listed below. Note that the OCTAE will update the data later this month as they work to resolve issues in a few states, so the data presented here may differ slightly once the update is complete.

• In 2022-23, there were about 11.3 million secondary students engaged in CTE, with about 7.8 million being classified as CTE participants and about 3.5 million being classified as CTE concentrators.
• In 2022-23, there were about 5.1 million postsecondary students engaged in CTE, with about 3.3 million being classified as CTE participants and about 1.8 million being classified as CTE concentrators.
• The four-year graduation rate for secondary CTE concentrators nationwide was 96.7%.
• The postsecondary placement rate for postsecondary CTE concentrators nationwide was 81.3%.

States also reported on at least one of the three following secondary program quality indicators:

• About 400,000 secondary CTE concentrators attained a recognized postsecondary credential across 21 states, districts or territories.
• About 116,000 secondary CTE concentrators attained postsecondary credits in their CTE program area across 12 states, districts or territories.
• About 215,000 secondary CTE concentrators participated in work-based learning across 29 states, districts or territories.

In addition, disaggregated data revealed the following:

• The top three Career Clusters among secondary CTE concentrators were Health Science; Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources; and Business Management & Administration.
• The top three Career Clusters among postsecondary CTE concentrators were Health Science, Business Management & Administration, and Information Technology.

CTE educators, students and families, policymakers and other stakeholders are encouraged to explore the new data tools to examine CTE data in their own state.

With the end of the fiscal year quickly approaching, yesterday, the House of Representatives voted on a continuing resolution (CR) that would have extended current federal funding for an additional six months. Lawmakers rejected the measure in a 202-220 vote. Members of Congress objected to the measure for a number of reasons, including the length, funding levels and unrelated additions. Many Members of Congress prefer a shorter CR to create pressure to complete full-year appropriations bills in a timelier manner.  

Government funding runs out on September 30 and lawmakers will need to act quickly on an alternative to avoid a government shutdown. The Senate is expected to introduce its own measure soon to fund the government that will likely keep the government funded until December.  

In the meantime, lawmakers in both chambers are still negotiating a final appropriations package. In June, the House Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies subcommittee released its funding bill that provided a $10 million increase to the Perkins State Grant. However, the bill does cut agencies within its jurisdiction by 11%. Specifically, it cuts programs like Every Students Succeeds Act (ESSA) Title I grants by 25% and Federal Work Study programs by 50%.  

The Senate also released its FY 25 funding bill in August. This bill provides $80 billion in discretionary funding for the Department of Education, representing a little more than a 1% increase for the department. The bill also provides a $35 million increase for the Perkins State Grant, a $280 million increase for ESSA Title I grants and a $100 million increase for the Office of Federal Student Aid. 

As this process unfolds, ACTE will continue to advocate for the highest possible funding level for CTE and an overall robust investment in the education and workforce development continuums, and will provide regular updates. If you have any questions, please contact ACTE’s Government Relations Manager, Jimmy Koch (jkoch@acteonline.org). 

My name is Jesus Galvan, and I recently joined ACTE as its new Research and Policy Coordinator. In this role, I will support ACTE with various research, data and policy activities, including creating fact sheets and writing blog posts. 

I was born and raised in Southeast Texas, near the Louisiana border and the Gulf of Mexico. I grew up in an area plagued by poverty and attended poor-performing schools – despite this, I remained oblivious to my living situation until I reached high school. Only then did I begin to realize how access to a good K-12 education, college and a stable career often depended on where one was born, their socioeconomic status and their racial/ethnic background. Once I enrolled for college at Rice University, I took my lived experiences and began to focus on attaining a career where I could work in education in some capacity.

At Rice, I engaged in numerous research and internship experiences to expand my knowledge in education research and policy. This includes interning at the Educational Testing Service, the U.S. Department of Education and Latinos for Education and conducting research with the Houston Education Research Consortium and the Kinder Institute for Urban Research. After graduating from Rice, I enrolled in the Master of Arts program in Educational Policy Studies at Boston University, where I interned with the Wheelock Educational Policy Center and worked alongside the Rennie Center for Education Research and Policy on a project analyzing STEM-based work experiences for high school students in Massachusetts. I have many different interests in education research, but CTE began to bloom as a particular standout because of its push to secure stabilized futures and career paths for all students, an issue that I particularly care about. 

In this new role with ACTE, I hope to contribute significantly to the expanding opportunities that CTE can bring about, particularly for vulnerable student populations in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. I also hope to see flourishing economic opportunities for these students because of expanded CTE offerings – in an increasingly expensive era, building wealth for the most vulnerable student populations is urgent. 

Outside of work, I enjoy collecting New York Times newspapers, listening to music (shoutout to the band Beach House), visiting museums and cooking with my parents. 

If I can be of any help or assistance to you, please do not hesitate to reach me at jgalvan@acteonline.org. I would be more than happy to speak with you. 

This week, Congress returned to Washington and is working behind the scenes to prevent a government shutdown from taking place on September 30, the end of the fiscal year. Education committees in both the House and Senate were active as well. Meanwhile, the Department of Education has been working to develop further resources and information for its work on Title IX and FAFSA and released proposed changes to Perkins state plans and data reporting. Keep reading for more information! 

• Department of Education Releases Proposed Perkins Changes: Earlier this week, the Department of Education released a set of proposed changes to Perkins state plans and data reporting through the Federal Register. The changes are open for public comment through November 12. Read more on the blog. 

• White House Launches Cybersecurity Hiring Sprint: The White House Office of the National Cyber Director launched a program to help fill the gap of 50,000 available cybersecurity jobs across the country. The program aims to reach candidates without traditional qualifications, such as computer science or engineering backgrounds. 

• Adam Gamoran Nominated to Serve as Director of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES): The White House announced their intent to nominate Adam Gamoran, President of the William T. Grant Foundation and former John D. MacArthur Chair in Sociology and Education Policy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, to fill the role of Director of IES. 

• New Title IX Resources: The Department of Education released two new resources to help schools comply with the 2024 amendments to the Title IX regulations that took effect in many schools across the country on August 1. These resources examine prohibitions on sex discrimination based on pregnancy or related conditions and parental, family or marital status. 

• Department of Education Releases Additional FAFSA Information: The Department of Education announced details regarding the beta testing period ahead of the 2025-26 FAFSA’s release to all students and contributors. High schools, community-based organizations, institutions of higher education and state entities can submit interest forms to participate in the next stages of the testing period. 

• Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Republicans Discuss Career Preparation During Round Table on K-12 Education: On Wednesday, the Senate HELP Committee held a roundtable on K-12 education that included discussion on the importance of career learning and preparing students for the workforce. 

• House Education and Workforce Committee Holds Mark Up: The House Committee on Education and the Workforce held a markup of several bills on student safety and employer-sponsored health care.  

• House Science Committee Passes Nine Bills to Support the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI): The House Committee on Science, Space and Technology passed nine bipartisan bills in support of AI advancement and leadership, including the NSF AI Education Act of 2024. This bill would support new Centers of AI Excellence at community and technical colleges or area CTE centers and invest in scholarships, grants and professional development around AI.  

Earlier this week, the Department of Education released a set of proposed changes to Perkins state plans and data reporting through the Federal Register. The changes are open for public comment through November 12.

The proposal, packaged as revised “Information Collection Requests,” would amend both the State Plan Guide that dictates what must be included in each state’s Perkins V plan and the Consolidated Annual Report that states submit each year to the Department of Education. While some of the proposed changes are relatively minor, others are more significant. Combined, these proposals are likely to require every state to submit a new Perkins V plan by the spring of 2026 and make changes to the structure of measures within their Perkins accountability system.

We are working with states and other CTE leaders to determine the full implication of these changes and will be sharing concerns with the Department as the comment period unfolds. As we analyze the details of the proposal and gather feedback, we will follow up with additional information and resources so that the entire CTE field can weigh in during the public comment process.