Michigan Has Many Reasons To Celebrate CTE Month In February

February 1, 2017

LANSING – Over 96 percent of Michigan Career and Technical Education (CTE) graduates were successfully placed in 2016, highlighting this month’s observance of CTE opportunities and achievements.

Michigan schools boast other successes for state and national celebrations of CTE Month in February:

• The statewide graduation rate for CTE students was 96.6 percent last year, surpassing for the third straight year the 95-percent federal target for Michigan. The 2015 graduation rate (4-year cohort) for all Michigan students was 79.8 percent.
• Last year’s statewide placement rate of CTE students was 96.4 percent, up 0.6 percent from 2015 and exceeding for the second time in seven years the federal target rate of 95.5 percent for Michigan.
• The state’s CTE placement rate has held above 90 percent in each of the past seven years.

“These are excellent results that demonstrate the impact and importance of CTE programs,” State Superintendent Brian Whiston said. “CTE offers educational strategies that meet the needs of students and employers, and get us closer to the goal of being a Top 10 education state in 10 years.”  

“I’m very impressed with the CTE programs throughout Michigan,” said Gov. Rick Snyder, a long-time proponent of promoting the skilled trades. “Thanks to Michigan’s incredible comeback, there are many high-skill, high-demand and high-paying jobs in our state. These CTE programs are making sure our students are adequately prepared to follow Michigan’s path toward the future.”

Each year, results of a survey of students who completed a CTE program in grades 11 or 12 are used to calculate the state’s placement rate for CTE students.

Michigan’s 2016 placement rate means that 19 out of every 20 CTE students were successfully placed in colleges and universities; advanced training programs; military services; or jobs within a year of leaving high school, according to surveyed students.

Of last year’s 15,571 survey respondents, 15,013 (96.4 percent) said they were in a continuing education program or employed, or both. Looking deeper, of the 11,687 student respondents in continuing education, 514 (4.5 percent) were pursuing a certificate; and 4,031 (35.4 percent) were getting an associate’s degree; and 6,344 (55.7 percent) were getting their bachelor’s degree.

The statewide graduation rate for CTE students was 96.6% in 2016. This rate has exceeded the federal target of 95.0% for the last three years.

In 2016, Michigan had 107,930 CTE students in 1,861 CTE programs spanning 17 career clusters, such as Marketing and Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM).

Patty Cantú, Director of the Office of Career and Technical Education at the Michigan Department of Education, said CTE prepares youth and adults for a wide range of careers through hands-on, industry-based, curriculum and learning opportunities.

“CTE allows students to see the relevance of core academic skills within the workplace,” she said. “CTE students also learn valuable critical thinking, employability, and job-related technical skills.”

For more information on CTE programs, visit Going Pro with Skilled Trades at www.mitalent.org, or contact your local high school or community college.