About Career and Technical Education

Many opportunities for students and communities

High-quality, cost-effective career and technical education (CTE) is the bridge between students learning the skills they need to succeed at work and businesses finding qualified employees.

Area high school students have the opportunity to take more than 40 courses and programs among nine different career clusters.

What’s the value of BOCES CTE programs?

• Connects academics to real-world success. Valuable hands-on opportunities can unlock those “aha” moments when students see connections between what they’re learning and how they can apply those skills in the real world. These experiences, in turn, help students choose their college majors or career paths or help them earn industry certifications.

• Helps students get a head start on college while saving money. Students can earn post-secondary credits in high school and enter college in advanced standing, saving money on tuition and books.

• Provides connections to satisfying careers. While sharpening their technical and people skills during internship and job shadowing experiences, students also make connections with local businesses — including potential future employers.

• Supports students with disabilities to graduate. A recent report from Advocates for Children of New York found that students with disabilities are more likely to graduate if they are enrolled in career and technical education programs. In fact, the report found that more than 75 percent of students with disabilities who completed at least two-thirds of a CTE program went on to graduate.

Jobs are Changing and CTE is Keeping Up

• The number of construction and trade industry jobs are expected to rise over the next decade especially among positions in skilled trades, such as plumbers, electricians and carpenters. This growth is largely attributed to pending retirements and a need to upgrade existing infrastructure.

• Health care occupations are expected to be in demand over the next decade as our region’s population continues to age. This increasing demand will be in ambulatory health care services (e.g., home health aids, medical assistants, physicians) and hospital services (e.g., licensed practical nurses, medical and clinical laboratory technologists).

• Possibilities abound in manufacturing. Most regions around the state are expanding their existing manufacturing operations or trying to identify and pursue emerging manufacturing opportunities, such as chemical manufacturing, food manufacturing, machinery manufacturing and computer and electronic product manufacturing, among others.

The state’s 37 BOCES are continuously developing and evolving their CTE programs to align with the economic development priorities in their respective regions so that students graduate with the skills their communities need.