Career Pathways Systems

https://octae.ed.gov/cte/initiatives/career-pathways-systems

Fundamentally, a Career Pathways System is about the coordination of people and resources. Within education, this includes aligning our country's K–12 and postsecondary education systems and, in particular, the career and technical education services provided within and across program providers. This section provides information about career pathways generally and strategies to support career and technical education students in acquiring the academic, employability, and technical skills that employers demand.

CTE Challenge Prize Competitions

https://octae.ed.gov/cte/initiatives/cte-challenge-prize-competitions

In our global economy, the need to strengthen the competitiveness of the American workforce is one of the most urgent challenges we face as a nation.To this end, the U.S. Department of Education has joined with America's innovators through a series of prize competitions to provide students with contextualized skill-building experiences that increase access to and expand the capacity of career and technical education (CTE).

CTE Correctional Education

https://octae.ed.gov/cte/initiatives/cte-correctional-education

Correctional education is a fundamental component of rehabilitative programming offered in juvenile justice confinement facilities, most American prisons, and many jails and detention centers. Correctional populations are over-represented with individuals having below average levels of educational attainment. Education "behind bars" presents an opportunity for the incarcerated to prepare for success upon release. The Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education has funded numerous initiatives designed to improve educational opportunities for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated initiatives. Information about two of these initiatives is below.

Strengthening the Pipeline for CTE Teacher

https://octae.ed.gov/cte/initiatives/cte-teacher-pipeline

CTE programs help to underpin America’s workforce and seek to engage young people and adult learners at an economy of scale needed to address employer needs. The education industry is at a critical point, struggling to find its future workforce. It is important that CTE be part of a comprehensive strategy at the state and local levels to address this challenge.The U.S. Department of Education issued a joint letter with the U.S. Department of Labor to state and local education and workforce leaders encouraging them to take a series of actions to address teacher and school staff shortages, increase teacher pay, and further invest in the teaching profession.

Cybersecurity Education

https://octae.ed.gov/cte/initiatives/cybersecurity

Cybersecurity work is vital to our nation’s security and prosperity, yet hundreds of thousands of in-demand, high-paying cybersecurity jobs remain unfilled. To meet this urgent and growing demand, the United States needs to increase the supply of work-ready talent. This effort will require identifying and developing pathways from secondary education to postsecondary education and careers. However, many high schools do not have enough educators with the necessary expertise to provide a rigorous cybersecurity education.The U.S. Department of Education (ED) is collaborating with other federal agencies to increase the number of career and technical education (CTE) teachers who can effectively prepare students for cybersecurity education and careers.