Career and Technical Education: What Research Shows About Workforce Pathways

Career and technical education has undergone a significant transformation over the past two decades, moving from a stigmatized track associated with students deemed unsuited for college to a valued pathway that combines rigorous academic preparation with applied technical skills. Modern CTE programs serve students across the academic spectrum and are designed to prepare graduates both for entry into careers and for postsecondary education. Research on contemporary CTE outcomes, its relationship to college and career readiness, and its effects on earnings and employment has grown substantially and generally supports the value of high-quality CTE. The historical stigma of vocational education, which tracked low-achieving students away from college and toward low-wage manual labor, has shaped policy debates about CTE even as the programs have evolved. Research on the demographics of current CTE participation finds that students across academic achievement levels participate, and that high-achieving students who combine academic coursework with technical sequences show academic and labor market advantages compared to peers who pursue only traditional academic tracks. The notion that CTE is incompatible with college attendance has been contradicted by research showing that CTE participants attend and complete college at comparable rates to non-participants when matched on prior achievement. Industry partnerships are a distinguishing feature of high-quality CTE programs and are associated with better employment outcomes. Research on CTE programs with robust industry connections, including advisory board involvement from local employers, work-based learning placements, and industry-recognized credential completion, finds stronger employment outcomes and earnings premiums compared to programs with weaker industry ties. Students who complete both academic credentials and industry certifications show the best labor market outcomes in studies that track graduates into the workforce. Earnings premiums for CTE graduates are documented in research using administrative data linking education records to employment and earnings. Studies find that adults who completed high school CTE sequences earn more in the decade following graduation than comparable peers who did not, with premiums concentrated in specific high-demand technical fields including healthcare, information technology, and advanced manufacturing. Research on gender differences in CTE outcomes finds that women who complete non-traditional CTE programs in male-dominated technical fields show particularly strong earnings premiums. Engagement and high school completion are outcomes where CTE has shown consistent positive effects in research. Studies find that CTE participation is associated with lower dropout rates and higher graduation rates, with effects concentrated among students at risk of disengagement. The applied, project-based nature of many CTE courses, and the connection of content to real-world applications that students find relevant, appears to maintain engagement for students who struggle with more abstract academic content. Research on alternative high school models that integrate CTE throughout the curriculum finds particularly strong graduation outcomes for at-risk populations. Dual enrollment in community college technical programs while still in high school has expanded as a mechanism for beginning CTE credentials earlier and reducing time to employment after graduation. Research on dual enrollment in technical programs finds positive effects on community college enrollment and completion, with students who begin college-level technical coursework in high school more likely to complete technical credentials and enter the workforce in their chosen fields. These programs also reduce the cost of postsecondary education by allowing students to complete college credits at lower or no cost while still in high school. Equity in CTE is an ongoing concern. Research finds persistent gender segregation in CTE program enrollment, with women overrepresented in traditionally female fields including healthcare and education and underrepresented in higher-paying technical fields including engineering and information technology. This gender sorting in CTE reproduces labor market segregation and its associated wage penalties for women. Programs that actively recruit women into non-traditional CTE pathways, and that address the climate and support structures within those programs, show some promise in reducing gender segregation. The integration of computer science and digital skills into CTE programs is a growing area of policy attention and research. Research on computational skills and labor market outcomes finds growing premiums for workers who combine technical knowledge with computational literacy, across a wide range of occupations and industries. CTE programs that incorporate coding, data analysis, and digital fabrication alongside traditional technical skills produce graduates better prepared for the evolving demands of the modern workforce.