Career and Technical Education (CTE) aims to connect students to future careers by providing hands-on skills and training in high school. Policymakers increasingly ask whether CTE programs are aligned with the in-demand jobs and wages available in local labor markets, a concept known as workforce alignment. Most Americans live within a short distance of where they grew up, meaning that the state and local education systems that oversee CTE bear much of the responsibility for preparing students for the jobs around them.

The question of workforce alignment for CTE is important: Too little alignment risks irrelevance in the job market, while too much alignment can leave students unprepared for changes in technology and industry over a lifetime. Getting job-specific skills before leaving school is helpful, but students also need to be skilled in adaptation, so they can evolve with shifts in technology, industry demands, or their own career preferences over the course of a lifetime. Today’s policy momentum is tilted toward stronger alignment, reflecting concerns that students are not sufficiently prepared for high-demand jobs. Surveys consistently show that the public views career preparation as a central purpose of education.

In a pair of studies, researchers from the Career & Technical Education Policy Exchange (CTEx) have examined how CTE programs align with local employment and potential pay. This issue brief considers three dimensions of alignment: (a) how closely student concentrations mirror local industries, (b) whether students pursue pathways that lead to higher-paying jobs, and (c) which groups of students are most likely to engage with those higher-paying opportunities.