• Utah’s interest in expanding CTE continues to grow, and CTE policy will likely be enhanced during the 2025 legislative session.
• Support for CTE exists across political party lines and state borders.

Last month, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona visited Utah and praised the state’s approach to Career and Technical Education (CTE). As the Biden cabinet official’s visit to Republican-dominated Utah suggests, there is bipartisan support for career and technical education these days. Especially in light of an ongoing discussion around the value of a four-year degree for most students, there is a growing consensus of the value of this type of education, which provides students with hands-on, real-world experience and skills for specific, high-demand jobs. 

Utah is among the leaders in this space, providing many CTE offerings in high school through important partnerships and postsecondary opportunities. Furthermore, in 2025, interest in offering more CTE opportunities continues to grow in Utah and will likely be discussed during Utah’s upcoming legislative session.

Utah’s CTE data

According to state data, the number of students enrolled in CTE courses has grown slightly between the most recent school years for which there is data. The number of students enrolled in CTE courses went from 185,256 in the 2022-23 school year to 187,580 in the 2023-24 school year (1.3% growth). And overall, in Utah during school year 2024, students earned 132,781 CTE concurrent enrollment (CE) credits, which is helpful to students after graduation.

In fact, CTE participation during secondary education continues to have a positive relationship with the student graduation rates. As of the 2023-24 school year, the graduation rate for students who are CTE completers (those who completed a CTE program) is basically 99% (98.5% to be exact) and for CTE concentrators – meaning they’ve completed certain requirements within a CTE program – the graduation rate is 97% (96.8% to be exact). The statewide graduation rate is 88%, so students pursuing CTE are significantly more likely to graduate than their counterparts.

The growth and positive impact of CTE may be that students feel their learning is immediately engaging and relevant and will lead to a tangible outcome, like a well-paying career.

Not surprisingly, Utah’s openness to these other forms of education allowed Utah to pass a bill last session like SB 122 – Youth Apprenticeship Governance Structure Amendments, which creates a study that looks at ways to expand apprenticeship opportunities in the state.

Career and Technical Education grows nationally

Many states across the nation continue to create policies that expand CTE opportunities as well.

Likewise, national groups like the Association of Career and Technical Education (ACTE) and Advance CTE help support CTE development and track CTE public policy trends across the nation. For example, ACTE offers state fact sheet on CTE enrollment, data and information. Advance CTE tracks new state policies. By August 2024 it found that states had passed 54 funding policies, 30 industry partnerships and work-based learning policies, 28 access and equity policies, 26 data/reporting/accountability policies, and 19 industry-recognized credential policies across the country. For perspective, according to the association’s data for CTE policies passed in 2023, that amounts to almost the same number of policies passed by midyear 2024 as the total number of policies passed in all of 2023.

Last fall, Advance CTE also released an updated National Career Clusters Framework, which is a tool to help with organizing CTE programs. The point is that while individual states are working to advance CTE initiatives, there are national resources that are also trying to support them, demonstrating that this field is robust and likely to expand.

Alignment exists in Utah to expand CTE and credentials for high school students

With the Utah legislative session just around the corner, it’s clear that there is alignment among several governmental entities that CTE is a priority, as is credentialing students while still enrolled in high school.

For example, the governor’s budget recommends $137.3 million for CTE and recommends $3 million for what is called “First Credential for All,” an initiative that seeks to ensure students get a credential before high school graduation if they want.

Likewise, the House Majority Caucus lists investments in CTE as one of its education priorities, specifically mentioning increasing opportunities to give high school students credentials that put them in the “driver’s seat for success after graduation.”

Arguably, even the statewide discussion of analyzing and reallocating funds in higher education potentially touches on these initiatives, as part of the question is whether awarded degrees meet the industry needs of the state.

On each of these shifts and priorities, the governor and many legislators seem aligned.

Conclusion

With such momentum behind CTE, we can anticipate state and national support of CTE to grow as well as the number of students who feel CTE is worth their effort to find a career. For many students, and the economy in general, this may be a really good outcome.