By Brooke Thomson
President & CEO

Anyone who has tried to hire a plumber, auto technician or construction contractor this winter can’t help but appreciate the importance of the “career technical education” offered in Massachusetts public high schools.

The same is true for advanced manufacturing companies and other industries that have struggled during the past several years to find skilled machinists, electricians, designers and medical assistants.

So, it’s good news that Governor Maura Healey’s recently filed supplemental budget includes $75 million to add 3,000 career technical education (CTE) slots for Massachusetts high-school students. Another positive step is the governor’s BRIGHT Act, which includes $100 million for Skills Capital grants that support high schools, colleges, and educational institutions to upgrade technology and instructional lab spaces, expand career programs, and increase capacity in workforce training programs.

AIM has long supported the expansion of vocational and technical education as part of a broader strategy to ensure that the workforce in Massachusetts is able to meet the needs of a growing economy. The association in 2023 honored two vocational high schools – Worcester Technical High School and Roger L. Putnam Vocational Academy in Springfield – for remaking themselves into models of academic excellence. Many AIM members serve as advisors or board members at vocational high schools.

Demand for career technical education has been growing for more than three decades in Massachusetts, straining the capacity of the commonwealth’s vocational high schools. The number of students attending public vocational high schools has risen from 27,000 in 1933 to 36,000 today.

Career and technical education in Massachusetts includes both vocational high schools and traditional, comprehensive high schools that offer career programs. CTE prepares students to graduate with skills and credentials that will provide them with advanced employment opportunities if they enter the workforce immediately upon graduation. Signature components of these programs include at least 900 hours of immersive learning time, co-operative education in partnership with local employers, and opportunities to earn high-value industry recognized credentials.

“Massachusetts’ career technical education programs play an important role in our state’s education system and economy. They provide students with the skills they need to succeed in today’s job market and help us meet the workforce needs of our employers,” Governor Healey said last week.

“Our administration has been engaging with families, educators, CTE schools, local officials and the business community to determine how we can increase access to these programs and set all of our students up for success?”

What are students learning in CTE programs? The offerings run the gamut from agriculture to construction, health care to pre-school education, and information technology to manufacturing. These are precisely the skills most in demand among AIM members, large and small, across multiple industries.

Massachusetts CTE programs have done a commendable job blending technologically sophisticated career preparation with academic rigor. Businesses and individuals alike stand to benefit from expanding innovative, applied learning opportunities for people who work with both their minds and their hands.