Vocational Technical Education

Massachusetts is home to 89 high schools offering Chapter 74 career technical education (CTE) programs. Because of Massachusetts’s rigorous Chapter 74 standards, these are well-respected programs, but they lack the capacity to accommodate all who want to attend.

Currently, there are more than 6,000 students on waiting lists to be admitted into vocational-technical programs in Massachusetts. Underserved communities and gateway cities, like Worcester and Lawrence, have experienced disproportionate waiting periods for students to access these educational programs. Consequently, the waiting list restricts economic growth in these communities.

Worcester Technical High School offers Chapter 74 Career Technical Education Programs

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an increase in demand for skilled workers. Eighty-one percent of Massachusetts employers claim that it is important to improve CTE schools and training in their regions. Approximately twenty percent of high school students in the Commonwealth participate in some form of career technical education (CTE). Additionally, seventy-four percent of Massachusetts high school graduates were employed in Massachusetts within four years of graduation. This suggests that because of the high retention rate of graduates in the Commonwealth, investment in CTE programs in Massachusetts would directly benefit the State. 

The Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, through its involvement with the Alliance for Vocational Technical Education (AVTE), has advocated for more investment in Massachusetts vocational programming. Advocating for and implementing the following initiatives will help students on long waitlists and help employers find new qualified workers. In collaboration with AVTE, there are established priorities set in place to achieve the desired CTE school expansion in Massachusetts.