FAQs

CTE provides middle school, high school, postsecondary and adult learners with the knowledge and skills they need to be prepared for successful careers. Learners enrolled in CTE programs progress along a pathway of increasingly specific academic and technical courses. They often have the opportunity to participate in internships, engage with employers, and apply what they are learning through hands-on projects. CTE is offered in all 50 states and all U.S. territories and has served more than 11 million learners every year for the past 10 years.

The Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) reauthorized the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act in July 2018. Perkins is a federal education program that invests in secondary and postsecondary CTE in all 50 states and all U.S. territories. CTE programs rely upon this investment to continually update their programs as the needs of the workforce evolve, cover expenses such as career guidance and advisement, build industry partnerships and more. Perkins also support states’ efforts to foster innovation, offer technical assistance and provide professional development. The federal investment in Perkins is essential for increasing learner access to high-quality CTE programs. With a focus on program improvement, this investment has been critical to ensuring that programs meet the ever-changing needs of learners and employers.

Today, CTE is preparing learners of all backgrounds for promising career paths and giving employers and our economy a competitive edge. However, the 21st century economy is creating skilled careers faster than our schools, colleges and CTE programs can prepare learners for these opportunities. CTE programs can serve even more learners and employers—but only if they receive more resources. Expanding the federal investment in CTE programs will create a brighter future for our community—leading to more career options for learners, better results for employers, and increased growth for our economy. Learn more by checking out the resources on the share page.

Companies and organizations of all sizes, and across all states and territories are encouraged to sign on.

We need your help! Even if you aren’t an employer, you are critical to helping us double the investment in CTE. Visit the share page to find a promotional toolkit and other resources to help you learn more about how to engage with employers in your network that may be willing to support the campaign. If you’d like to be a spokesperson for the campaign, share a story highlighting the impact of CTE, or be connected with your CTE state leadership to learn about how to get involved in CTE in your state, please email ISupportCTE@careertech.org.

The signatures collected will be a critical component to building visibility and support for CTE with members of Congress. Information about the number of employees, revenue, type of company and primary industry area will be shared in the aggregate and will help us demonstrate the variety and breadth of employers that support doubling the investment in CTE. Your email address will be shared only with your state CTE leadership and will not be shared with any other entity without your approval. 

We appreciate your support! You can get more involved by:

• Asking other companies and organizations to sign on in support of the doubling the investment in CTE. Check out the share page to find materials for promoting the campaign with other companies or organizations in your network!
• Emailing ISupportCTE@careertech.org to:
  • Share a story highlighting the impact of CTE;
  • Be a spokesperson for the campaign;
  • Send your company/organization’s logo for use in materials supporting the campaign; and
  • Be connected with your CTE state leadership to learn about how to get involved in CTE in your state.

Associations are welcome to sign on in support of doubling the investment in CTE. Your members can get more involved by visiting the share page to find materials for promoting the campaign. These can be especially helpful if your members are engaging with the employer community.

This campaign grew out of the excitement of many supporters of Career Technical Education (CTE), including employers, Advance CTE’s Board of Directors and policymakers. CTE programs deliver real results and can serve even more learners and employers—but only if they receive more resources. CTE supporters know that expanding funding for CTE programs will create a brighter future for our community—leading to more career options for learners, better results for employers, and increased growth for our economy. Now is the time for Congress to double the investment in CTE.