Career Clusters and Pathways 

CTE High School Pathways

CTE Stats

1. CTE has 16 career clusters / tracks
2. 7.4 million secondary students and 4 million post-secondary students are interested in CTE nationwide (Links to an external site.)
3. Between 2000 and 2014, the number of for-profit CTE institutions (Links to an external site.) increased by about 68.7%
4. 95% of CTE students graduate (Links to an external site.) high school, which is 10% higher than the national average
5. 78% of CTE graduates enroll in post-secondary education full-time (Links to an external site.)
6. Between 2012 and 2022, there will be 50,557,900 job openings for CTE graduates (Links to an external site.)
7. Of those jobs, 15,627,500 (30.9%) will be new
8. The United States has 1,200 career and technology centers in 41 states
9. The Perkins Act (Links to an external site.) is the main source of funding for CTE programs nationwide
10. Perkins funding can cover up to 100% of CTE materials costs, including digital curriculum (Links to an external site.)
11. Students enrolling in post-secondary CTE courses are eligible for federal financial aid (Links to an external site.)
12. 94% of today’s high school students (Links to an external site.) experience some degree of CTE courses
13. 91% of high school graduates who earned 2-3 CTE credits enrolled in college (Links to an external site.)
14. 81% of high school dropouts say real-world skills education would’ve kept them in school
15. For every $1 of government funding in CTE (Links to an external site.), taxpayers earn as much as $12.20 in benefits in return
16. Technical and applied science graduates earn $2,000 to $11,000 more per year (Links to an external site.) than those with a bachelor’s degree
17. 27% of people with an associate’s degree or less out-earn those with a bachelor’s degree
18. 1/3 of CTE students are enrolled in programs preparing them for careers in leading industries (Links to an external site.)

20. In 2014, students earned a total of 3,842,589 CTE credentials (Links to an external site.) in the United States
21. Earned credentials have increased 62.7% since 2000
22. 1/3 of all high school dual enrollment credits come from CTE courses (600,000 total (Links to an external site.))

23. 82% of CTE students say they’re “satisfied” with career opportunities (Links to an external site.)
24. 80% of CTE students say CTE classes helped them “know where they were headed (Links to an external site.)”
25. 70% of CTE students say entering a CTE program of study helped them get better grades
26. 64.7% of post-secondary CTE students enroll in public two-year institutions (Links to an external site.)
27. 45% of CTE students say it used real-world examples to help them understand classwork
28. 20.4% of post-secondary CTE students enroll in private for-profit institutions
29. In 48 states, high school graduate rates for CTE students (Links to an external site.) are 3%-22% higher than state averages

Benefits of Career and Technical Education for all students

• Students are more likely to graduate.
• Students develop employability skills.
• Students achieve in other subjects.
• Students gain job-specific skills related to a career pathway.

NC Top Growth Sectors
• NC ranks 2nd in the nation in Information Technologies. IT has grown 26% since 2010.
• Software and telecommunications sector have grown 38% during past five years.
• NC automotive grew 25% during past 5 years
• NC ranks #2 for STEM program completion in U.S.
• NC is a leading state for STEM job growth.
• NC’s biotech cluster has grown 31% since 2001.
• Raleigh ranks No. 2 & Durham ranks No. 3 as Most Educated Cities in America.
• NC is 7th best state for aerospace manufacturing
• CTE and skilled-trades are needed which accounts for 65% of all careers