Career and Technical Education (CTE) is at a turning point. What once lived on the margins of academic planning is now front and center in national conversations around workforce development, education equity and student well-being.
As a former CTE educator and now working on CTE at Pearson, I’ve watched this evolution up close. Districts aren’t just experimenting with a few technology or agriculture pathways anymore; they’re building entire CTE-focused programs and schools, designing curricula aligned to workforce trends and giving students more ways than ever to find purpose and opportunity after graduation.
But for CTE to truly serve today’s students, it needs something it’s never had at scale: flexibility.
A Framework Built for the Future
That’s exactly what the newly modernized National Career Clusters Framework aims to provide.
Initially launched in 2002 with 16 clusters and nearly 80 pathways, the Framework offered a structure for organizing CTE programs by industry-aligned career areas. But the world of work has changed dramatically, and so has the way we prepare learners for it.
The modernized Framework, released in October 2024, condenses the structure into 14 clusters and 72 sub-clusters, adding cross-cutting clusters in Digital Technology, Marketing and Sales, and Management and Entrepreneurship, reflecting the reality that most modern careers don’t fit neatly into a single silo. It introduces career-ready practices as a core element and embraces interdisciplinary learning that mirrors today’s job landscape.
More importantly, this new model gives districts the freedom to customize programs based on local industry needs, attract more funding and better prepare students for emerging fields.
Funding Is Growing — but It’s Complex
While CTE continues to gain traction nationwide, one persistent challenge remains: navigating the complex and varied landscape of funding. Schools are no longer relying on a single source. Instead, they’re stitching together support from a wide range of federal, state, local and private resources to bring their programs to life.
At the federal level, Perkins V remains the cornerstone of CTE investment, often supplemented by additional funding from ESSER and Title I, II and IV programs. States add their own allocations on top of that, though amounts and priorities vary depending on legislation and regional workforce goals.
Locally, school districts are getting creative. Some draw from property tax revenues, while others rely on business partnerships, course fees, donations and even student fundraisers to cover costs. Grants have become an especially powerful resource. For example, Oregon schools can receive up to $500,000 through the CTE Revitalization Grant, while Wisconsin and Hawaii offer incentives of up to $1,000 for each approved CTE certification. Many grants also support school-based enterprises, such as student-run cafés, retail shops or food trucks, that help students apply their learning in real-world contexts.
CTE Is Now the Norm, Not the Niche
CTE has firmly moved into the mainstream of high school education. CTE now accounts for 15 percent of all public high school credits, and 97 percent of high school graduates have taken at least one CTE course. Nearly 18,000 schools across the country currently offer CTE programming, and 83 percent of CTE teachers expect their annual budgets to stay the same or increase.
These numbers signal a clear trend: The shift from “college for all” to “CTE for all” is well underway. Families are asking for more flexible, real-world learning options, and schools are stepping up to meet that demand.
What Teachers Need: Quality Curriculum and Career Awareness
But there’s still a gap.
During my six years in the classroom, I taught 12 different CTE courses. Only two had ready-to-use curricula from a trusted publisher. The rest? I built on my own, cobbling together materials from forums, blogs and free online resources.
That’s not sustainable.
Teachers need high-quality, career-aligned content developed by experts. Some curriculum providers are responding to the new cluster model by developing resources tailored for high school learners, aiming to address gaps teachers often face in ready-to-use materials. For example:
NFTE’s philosophy, that every student can think and act like an entrepreneur, perfectly aligns with the new Framework’s cross-cutting clusters. These aren’t just “add-on” skills; they’re essential capabilities for every student, no matter their career goals.
Empowering Students Through Career Exploration
One of the most exciting shifts in CTE is the growing emphasis on exploration, especially in middle school. If students don’t know what careers exist, how can they prepare for them?
Emerging tools that gamify career exploration are helping students discover a wider range of career options, connecting their interests to real-world opportunities. It connects their interests and aptitudes to real occupations, industry data and education pathways, giving them both inspiration and information.
This is critical. Whether it’s a student interested in welding or going into nursing, career exposure drives engagement. And engaged students are more likely to graduate with a plan — and a purpose.
A Moment of Opportunity
CTE isn’t just about training students for jobs. It’s about giving them confidence, direction and a sense of belonging in the workplace.
The new Career Clusters Framework is a major leap forward, and so is the funding momentum behind it. But schools can’t do it alone. They need partners who understand the complexity of CTE and the urgency of getting it right.
Supporting the next chapter in CTE will require high-quality curriculum, effective career exploration tools and strong educator support, ensuring every student has the opportunity to discover their potential.
