Every February is Career & Technical Education (CTE) Month®. Career and Technical Education (CTE) provides students with opportunities to gain the necessary academic knowledge and technical skills necessary to succeed in high-skill, high-wage, and in-demand careers. CTE has a commitment to equity and equitable learning opportunities for its students. Programs offer flexible scheduling, work-based learning, and stackable credentials that provide a pathway from education to employment not only for recent high school graduates, but also for returning adults, veterans, and incumbent workers wanting to update their skills. The breadth of CTE not only helps address workforce shortages, such as those in nursing, information technology, and teaching but helps Illinoisans meet their education and workforce goals. This month is a time to raise awareness for the contributions and importance of these programs as CTE will be crucial for Illinois' economic recovery after the pandemic has ended. For more information about CTE Month and how you can celebrate it, visit this page.
The Illinois community college system is the largest provider of postsecondary CTE programs. At the outset of fiscal year 2022, state-wide, CTE credit program enrollments accounted for nearly one-quarter of all credit students (24.3 percent). Career and Technical Education accounted for 32,313 graduates in the community college system, with over half of the earned degrees and certificates in CTE programs during fiscal year 2021 (52.3 percent). The ICCB is looking forward to celebrating it statewide while highlighting local innovation and best practices. In order to spotlight these best practices, we need you all to share with us by emailing events, news articles, pictures (with descriptions), and other CTE project highlights to William.M.Norris@illinois.gov.
Follow ICCB's Facebook page and YouTube account for the latest on CTE Month happenings around the state.
Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) provides support to over 1.9 million elementary and secondary students in Illinois. ISBE is excited to celebrate CTE Month. There are a lot of great things happening the schools particularly in secondary schools. We encourage you to sign up for our CTE newsletter to learn more about what the students are doing in career and technical education. For more information about other projects in CTE go to https://www.isbe.net/cte. You can contact the ISBE staff at cte@isbe.net.
Illinois State Board of Education CTE Month Resources:
Additional ISBE Resources:
A total of 596 students received pathway endorsements in Human and Public Services, Health Sciences Technology, Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, Business and Finance, Arts and Communication, Information Technology and Manufacturing, Engineering, Technology, and Trades.
Be sure to also look at the following resources for CTE Month 2023:
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