In late May, the National Center for Education Research within the national Institute of Education Sciences (IES) released a funding announcement for Fiscal Year 2025 research grant competitions.

Education Research Grants through IES are designed to “expand the understanding of what works for whom, in what context, and why to provide reliable information about how to improve education outcomes for learners at all levels, including early childhood, elementary, secondary, postsecondary, and adult education.” Grants of up to $4 million are available to researchers in 11 different topic areas, including CTE. The CTE topic area is designed to support research on the implementation and effects of CTE programs and policies on students’ education and workforce outcomes. Specific topics mentioned in the research description include work-based learning, middle school CTE programs, and CTE teacher recruitment and retention and the impact on learner outcomes. Research looking at longer-term outcomes, such as college completion and earnings is also a priority. Applications for these grants are due September 12, 2024.  

Those interested in applying for these research grants can access virtual office hours hosted by the National Center for Education Research. To learn more, visit https://ies.ed.gov/funding/technicalassistance.asp or reach out to the CTE program officer, Dr. Corinne Alfeld, at Corinne.Alfeld@ed.gov. More information about IES grants overall can be found at https://ies.ed.gov/funding/.

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has published its annually mandated Condition of Education report, which presents key indicators on the status of education at all levels throughout the country. This year the report includes a special highlight section about CTE. Findings and insights are below.

Staffing challenges and qualifications of CTE teachers

Data from academic year 2020-21 demonstrates challenges in hiring for open CTE teaching positions across the United States. During the first full school year of the COVID-19 pandemic, 31% of public schools with open teaching positions in CTE reported having difficulties with or being unable to fill CTE instructor roles. This percentage was higher than for many other subject areas.

• CTE teachers were the most likely of all grades 9-12 public school instructors to be newer to the profession, with 10% having less than three years of teaching experience. In addition, 29% had three to nine years of experience, 36% had 10 to 20 years of experience and 25% had over 20 years of experience.

• 13% of CTE teachers had less than a bachelor’s degree as their highest degree (compared to 2% of teachers overall), 44% had a master’s degree as their highest degree (vs. 54% overall) and 6% of CTE teachers had an education specialist degree as their highest degree (vs. 8% overall). The percentage of CTE teachers with a bachelor’s degree as their highest degree (35%) was similar to the percentage of public school teachers overall.

Participation in CTE during school

This next set of data points looked at CTE course participation and completion among 2019 high school graduates.

• 85% of high school graduates earned at least one Carnegie credit, with information technology (29%), human services (28%) and business and marketing (21%) having the highest participation.

• Participation in CTE was higher among young men, with 87% having earned at least one Carnegie credit in comparison to 82% of young women.

• CTE participation was highest among students from rural areas (92%) and towns (91%) in comparison to students from suburban areas (83%) and cities (80%).

• Asian American learners had the lowest participation rate (77%), with American Indian/Alaska Native (87%), Black (86%) and white (86%) students participating at the highest rates.

Trends in CTE degree and certificate completion

This section of the report looked at the completion levels of subbaccalaureate CTE programs at the certificate or associate degree levels in school year 2021-22.

Subbaccalaureate certificates:

• More than 888,000 CTE-focused subbaccalaureate certificates were conferred, with health sciences (30%) and manufacturing, construction, repair and transportation (21%) being the top fields.

• Four CTE fields of study — agriculture and natural resources, computer and information sciences, education, and business and marketing — saw increases of more than 50% in certificates awarded between 2011-12 and 2021-22. In contrast, there was a 35% decrease in health science certificates awarded during this time frame. Health sciences remained the most common program area for CTE certificates awarded despite this drop.

Associate degrees:

• More than 499,000 CTE-focused associate degrees were conferred, with health sciences (36%) and business and marketing (21%) being the most prevalent fields of study.

• Public, legal and social services; protective services; engineering, architecture and science technologies; and consumer services all experienced decreases of more than 20% in certificates awarded between 2011-12 and 2021-22. In contrast, agriculture and natural resources; communications and communications technologies; and manufacturing, construction, repair and transportation saw increases in the same time range.

Postsecondary pathways of public school CTE concentrators

This section provided insights about the postsecondary and workforce outcomes of CTE concentrators — defined as individuals who earned two or more credits in the same CTE area during high school — who graduated high school in 2013. By June 2021, eight years after high school graduation, 80% of secondary CTE concentrator graduates had ever enrolled in postsecondary education.

• CTE concentrators and non-concentrators enrolled in postsecondary education had similar rates of credential attainment. However, more CTE concentrators (14%) than non-concentrators (9%) received an associate degree as their highest postsecondary award, while non-concentrators (54%) were more likely to earn a bachelor’s degree as their highest credential than CTE concentrators (48%).

• More CTE concentrators (74%) than non-concentrators (64%) who earned any postsecondary degree or certificate earned their highest award in a CTE field of study. About 27% of these CTE concentrators earned their award in the same field as their high school concentration, most prevalently with public services (54%) and health care (44%).

Over the last year, Advance CTE, the organization representing CTE state leaders, has been working on a process to modernize their National Career Clusters® Framework. After a year of input, research and development, and testing with business and industry leaders and CTE professionals, a draft modernized National Career Clusters® Framework was released by Advance CTE last week. The draft Framework is now public for validation from leaders, educators, industry professionals, and connected partners in the CTE community. Your voice is needed!

The National Validation Survey — open now through July 7 — is your opportunity to weigh in on the draft modernized Framework. It is the last opportunity before a final Framework is released later this year to ensure the design reflects the changes that have taken place in the world of work and across industry sectors and meets students’ needs. You also can share evidence to support any further suggested changes you make. We encourage as many CTE educators and leaders as possible to participate in the survey.

Visit the survey to view the draft Framework and watch an introductory video and webinar prior to responding. More information can be found on Advance CTE’s Advancing the Framework webpage.

Recently, the Office for Career, Technical and Adult Education (OCTAE) at the U.S. Department of Education circulated a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) advocating for strong investments in correctional education to promote safer communities and help reintegrate incarcerated individuals into the workforce through allocations of funds designated for CTE and adult education. 

OCTAE’s DCL encourages States and localities to allocate more funding from the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA) and Perkins V to correctional education programs. It also urges a more comprehensive approach toward correctional education to yield greater employment opportunities for incarcerated individuals after they are released and reduced recidivism rates. A specific goal outlined in the letter is to enable more people to benefit from the newly expanded, Pell-eligible Prison Education Programs (PEPs).  

Correctional education includes but is not limited to programming such as adult basic education, high school equivalencies and diplomas, postsecondary education, including CTE, and English language learning. About 1 in 3 incarcerated adults have less than a high school equivalence and only about 15 percent of incarcerated adults earn postsecondary degrees prior to or during their incarceration. However, research has shown that people who obtain their high school equivalencies while incarcerated increase their earnings by 24-29% the year after their release. Those who participate in postsecondary correctional education programs have a 48% lower risk of recidivating than those who don’t. 

The DCL also addresses the workforce gap that can be filled with the hundreds of thousands of people being released from incarceration each year. It outlines how workforce opportunities created by the Biden Administration’s “Investing in America” agenda can benefit recently released individuals while fulfilling a need in our nation’s labor force, but only if these individuals are properly equipped with the educational background to take on the available roles.  

This week, Congress was back in full swing. The House began their process of bringing all 12 Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 appropriations bills to the floor before the August recess. The first bill on the docket was the Military Construction-VA spending bill, which passed in a 209-197 vote. Next week, their attention will turn to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The Administration continued to share important resources and opportunities, and the Department of Education published their “Report on the Condition of Education.” Keep reading for more! 

• Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Announces Hearing on Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA): The Senate HELP Committee announced a hearing “The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act: Supporting Efforts to Meet the Needs of Youth, Workers, and Employers” for June 12. Keep an eye on ACTE’s social media for updates (@ACTEpolicy on X)! 
• Report on the Condition of Education: The Department of Education published their annual Report on the Condition of Education. This report featured new data and insights on CTE enrollment and outcomes as well as CTE teacher research. We will have more analysis soon!
• Department of Education Hosts “Unlocking Career Success” Summit: The Department of Education held an “Unlocking Employer Pathways Summit” on June 3 as part of their Raise the Bar Initiative. This event featured speakers who highlighted different ways to engage business leaders in preparing the workforce, and prioritized collaboration between education and industry leaders.  
• Department of Education Published FAFSA Update: The Department of Education published an announcement sharing that over 1.8 million FAFSA corrections have been successfully processed. This is following Secretary Cardona’s commitment to continue to thoroughly improve FAFSA for the next school year. 
• Department of Education Releases Grants for Postsecondary Students’ Basic Needs: Applications are due August 5 from postsecondary institutions seeking funding to create programs that address the basic needs of students and to report on practices that improve outcomes for students. The grant announcement contains further details. 
• Department of Labor Shares Resources on the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA): The Department of Labor published resources intended to facilitate collaboration and co-enrollment across WIOA Title 1 – Youth, Adult and Dislocated Worker programs and Title IV – Vocational Rehabilitation. 
• Department of Labor Announces Webinar on Rural Workforce Outreach: The Department of Labor is hosting a webinar on June 18 to discuss outreach and opportunities to connect workers and employers in rural communities to workforce systems. 
• Department of Labor Highlights Organizations Advancing Workforce Development for LGBTQ+ Community: The Department of Labor shared a list of organizations that work on initiatives that support the LGBTQ+ community with workforce development opportunities, including skills training, leadership development and employment opportunities. 

Last week, Capitol Hill was quiet as both the House and Senate took recess. When they return, the House plans to start bringing Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 spending bills to the floor. The Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Subcommittee markup is still scheduled in late June, with the full Committee markup set to take place on July 10. Meanwhile, the Department of Labor has announced several new grants to help boost workforce opportunities, and the Department of Education has a FAFSA update.  Keep reading for more! 

• Cardona Remarks on FAFSA, ‘Going to Get Better’: On Thursday, Secretary Cardona was interviewed at the Education Writers Association’s national conference, where he announced a major overhaul of the agency that oversaw the ‘Better FAFSA’ launch. This was followed by a letter sent by Cardona to Department staff outlining steps to improve FAFSA. 
• New Funding Opportunity: Building Pathways to Infrastructure Jobs Grants: The Department of Labor announced $35 million in additional funding for the second round of the Building Pathways to Infrastructure Jobs grants, part of the Biden-Harris administration’s “Investing in America” agenda. This initiative aims to expand training access for high-quality infrastructure jobs.  
• Expanding Opportunities for Underserved Youth: The Department of Labor announced up to $40 million in grants funded through WIOA designed to support out-of-school organizations in expanding work-based learning opportunities and career pathways for underserved youth. 
• New EPA Job Training Grant Opportunity: The Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization announced a new funding opportunity aimed to recruit, train and retain a local skilled workforce, prioritizing unemployed and under-employed residents for careers in hazardous and solid waste management and other environmental fields. 
• New Resources for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) in Registered Apprenticeship: The Department of Education published new resources on DEIA specific to Registered Apprenticeship programs.  
• Sens. Cantwell and Moran Introduce Bipartisan NSF AI Education Act of 2024: A bipartisan bill has been introduced to expand professional development opportunities for K-12 educators looking to expand their knowledge with artificial intelligence and to open new ‘AI Excellency’ centers in community colleges through the National Science Foundation. 
• Department of Commerce Launches CHIPS Women in Construction Framework: The Department of Commerce announced the CHIPS Women in Construction Framework, a set of five best practices, as well as the first voluntary commitments to the Framework from Intel Corporation and Micron Technology. The Framework is part of U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo’s ongoing  Million Women in Construction initiative that aims to expand the American construction workforce by doubling the number of women in construction over the next decade. 
• Senator Manchin Registers as Independent: Senator Joe Manchin, a member of the Senate CTE Caucus, changed his registration to an Independent after nearly fourteen years of serving as a Democrat. In his statement, Senator Manchin highlighted his commitment to bipartisanship and prioritizing his commitment to his country over his part. He still plans to Caucus as a Democrat, so this is not expected to have any immediate impact on committee assignments or leadership.  

Today ACTE published CTE: Developing the Financial Services Workforce as part of our revamped series of Sector Sheets describing CTE’s role in growing the workforce for vital industry sectors. The Sector Sheet series is published with support from ACTE’s long-time partner Pearson.

This Sector Sheet describes how CTE supports the financial services workforce, which employs more than 7.2 million people nationwide. It also shares information on occupations, earnings and credentials that enable individuals to succeed in accounting and business finance, securities and investments, and insurance.

In addition, the Sector Sheet demonstrates the importance of CTE in developing this workforce by describing how CTE prepares learners through courses, industry credentials, work-based learning, career and technical student organizations and more.

Both the newer and older Sector Sheets are available on the ACTE Sector Sheet webpage for download and use. We encourage you to share these tools with students, families, counselors, policymakers and others to spread the message about CTE and its benefits for learners and the workforce.