Today, the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education held a
hearing to examine how Career and Technical Education (CTE) can boost careers.
Subcommittee Chairman Kevin Kiley (R-CA) started the hearing by highlighting how CTE can help bridge the skills gap. “In a dynamically changing economy, we must reimagine student programs to meet the demands of today’s and tomorrow’s labor market. And that is what CTE is all about: by design, it equips students with skills that match real job opportunities, providing pathways to immediate employment. That means fewer unfilled jobs, more career-ready graduates, and a stronger economy,” he said.
Witnesses discussed how CTE programs help students graduate from college faster and cheaper.
“With our postsecondary partners, West Michigan Aviation Academy maintains multiple articulation agreements with colleges and universities, enabling students to earn between 3 and 21 college credits through completion of designated Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs. This allows students to fast track and save money on their college education,” said
Mrs. Nicole Gasper, CEO at the West Michigan Aviation Academy.
Mrs. Gasper, discussed with
Rep. Mark Messmer (R-IN) how teaching at a STEM-focused school has differed from her time at a traditional public school. “Being at the academy has tremendously renewed my faith in public education because so many of the barriers for innovation have been removed…coming to a public charter school where you have a board who is solely there to serve [the] mission is very different. It allows the school leader—like myself—and the leadership team to be able to focus on the important work every day for our young people,” she said.
Rep. James Moylan (R-GU) highlighted the success Guam is seeing with CTE programs and emphasized the importance of giving states flexibility. “So the bottom line for…our states and territories is the need for more authority and latitude in determining spending for CTE programs,” he stated.
In an exchange with
Rep. Burgess Owens (R-UT),
Mrs. Kristi Rice, Cybersecurity Teacher at Spotsylvania County Public Schools, explained how her school partners with industry leaders to make sure they are teaching job-ready skills. “We just reviewed and rewrote our competencies for our cybersecurity course—we do that every three to five years based on the course. We have higher education in the room, we have industry partners in the room, and we have other high school teachers, and we just make sure [the course] is updated and fresh,” she said.
Democrats spent the hearing criticizing the Trump administration’s decision to implement an agreement between the Department of Labor and Department of Education to streamline implementation of CTE programs. Subcommittee Ranking Member Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) tried to get witnesses on record stating that CTE belonged under the umbrella of education rather than job training. “You can’t separate the two,” said
Dr. Deb Volzer, Vice President of Workforce Development at SME. “Education [that aligns] with skills to secure sustainable, thriving, waged occupations, should be the goal of education.”
Bottom line: CTE makes sure students learn the skills that match real job opportunities. That means fewer unfilled jobs, more career-ready graduates, and a stronger economy.
