Assistant Professor Walt Ecton speaks with EdWeek about how Career Technical Education can keep up with a changing job market

Interest and enrollment in Career Technical Education (CTE) has increased in recent years, reports EdWeek, but as K-12, higher education, industry, nonprofits, and policymakers make more investments in CTE, experts in the field are calling for a coherent approach.

Every five years, Advance CTE, a national nonprofit organization that represents state CTE leaders, unveils its new vision for the sector. Its latest vision “The Connected Path: A Shared Vision for Opportunity & Empowerment Through CTE” puts forth priorities for CTE programs to offer more connected pathways of career exploration and preparation that meet student and industry needs. These include transparency and accountability, navigating emerging technologies, and access to personalized and flexible pathways.

Marsal Education Assistant Professor Walt Ecton tells EdWeek the priorities that have been identified by Advance CTE are ones that “Policymakers, administrators, teachers—really everyone in the school ecosystem—should be thinking about.”

He goes on to say that many CTE programs operate in isolation instead of coordinating with others. Having systems education and workforce partners collaboratively design would be beneficial for students and the companies who need skilled employees.

When it comes to the goal of having more transparency and accountability, governments would have to be “willing to make the investment in connecting these different data systems so that we can really understand the outcomes of these programs for students,” Ecton says.

If students need to be prepared to navigate emerging technologies, then “that’s something we need to invest in,” says Ecton. “It’s not reasonable to expect CTE teachers to be up to date on their own on all the ways that AI and emerging technology are impacting their industry. We need real professional development and support.”