Career Clusters & CTE In Indiana
How Does CTE Benefit Indiana
Indiana’s economy has a skills gap. Currently, 58% of the jobs in Indiana require more than a high school diploma but less than a four-year degree. Only 47% of the Indiana workforce is trained to this level.
With more implementation of career and technical education, the gap will be lessened and more job opportunities will be available for those who may not have originally been able to qualify for those jobs without CTE.
In Indiana, there are a few key industries. These include agriculture, aviation and aerospace, energy, and advanced manufacturing. These industries are where CTE can help to fill those gaps.
During the 2018-19 school year, Indiana had almost 175,000 secondary CTE participants and a little over 22,000 postsecondary participants. Research shows these young and adult learners are more engaged, graduate high school at higher rates, and earn industry-recognized credentials. The four-year graduation rate in Indiana for all students was 88% while the graduation rate for those in CTE concentrations was 94.8%.
Currently, there is almost $29 million of Federal Perkins Funding directed toward CTE in Indiana. There were also almost 25,000 postsecondary credentials earned by CTE students in Indiana during the 2016-17 school year. With rates like these, it’s easy to see that CTE is good for students, good for business, and also good for communities.
Career Clusters and What they Mean
As an education program, CTE utilizes specific career paths that can help prepare students and adults for college and careers through a series of courses. These courses teach both academic and technical skills.
The CTE program has opportunities within a wide variety of career paths and uses Career Clusters as an organization tool. Career Clusters are groups used to categorize the 79 career pathways available in the CTE program.
Each cluster contains careers that share similar types of work. The career clusters include:
● Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources
● Architecture & Construction
● Arts, A/V Technology & Communications
● Business Management & Administration
● Education & Training
● Finance
● Government & Public Administration
● Health Sciences
● Hospitality & Tourism
● Human Services
● Information Technology
● Law, Public Safety, Corrections & Security
● Manufacturing
● Marketing
● Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics
● Transportation, Distribution & Logistic
To view the career paths within each career cluster, please visit our website at www.careertech.org/Career-Cluster
The aim is for CTE to help provide people with more skills in order for them to be more successful in their fields of study and work. CTE prepares people so they’re able to obtain higher wages, build specific skills, and also have the ability to land jobs in high-demand career fields. A wide variety of people can use CTE. Some of these people include high school students, college students, and even working professionals.
Career Clusters can help students better focus their education plans to fulfill the demands of their future career pathways.
Career Clusters also make it easier for students and adults to fine-tune their career paths in order to be able to sustain upward movement within their careers.
To strengthen the results of the program, IN-ACTE has also partnered with different organizations. These partnerships are here to better serve you while also providing you with the support you need to further your education and your career. Our partners include:
● Indiana Department of Education
● Engineering / Technology Educators of Indiana,
● American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences
● Vincennes University
● IVY Tech Community College
● Indiana Association of Career and Technical Education Districts.
Indiana Resources
The state of Indiana values education and is making efforts to help its people better themselves and their lives. The Governor's Workforce Cabinet has included CTE in the Strategic Workforce Plan that was submitted in May 2020. The Strategic Workforce Plan is part of the federal Workforce and Innovation Opportunity Act. The Indiana CTE policies will be guided at the state level with the Perkins V State Plan. Some of these policies could include the implementation of next-level programs of study.
Is CTE Right For You?
Education should be valued because it betters you and your situation. The harder we work, the bigger the payoff. You can begin to accomplish your goals through CTE and set yourself up for success. If CTE sounds like something that would benefit you or your career, both future and present, Follow the link here to browse some of the Career Clusters we have available.