Over the last decade, non-degree credentials have become a key focus in Career Technical Education (CTE) and workforce development, driven by a dynamic labor market where learners seek skills that lead to jobs that pay a family sustaining wage, and employers seek flush talent pipelines. Federal and state policies have placed increasing emphasis on the importance of credentials in education and workforce strategies. As a result, many states have made significant investments to develop credentialing systems. However, challenges remain to ensure the value of credentials, especially with the vast array available and the need for clear guidelines to prioritize those with the greatest labor market value.
Built on a 2024 national scan, a 50-state survey, and interviews with state leaders, Advance CTE’s State of Career Technical Education: Credentials of Value report takes a deep dive into the ongoing, iterative cycle of state credentialing systems: how credentials are selected, approved, re-evaluated, and aligned to real value.
Resource Organization
The report is organized by four briefs, each of which includes major findings, policy exemplars, and practical strategies for implementing more robust processes around determining which credentials matter most across the following topics:
- Identifying and Approving Credentials of Value
- Revalidating Previously Approved Credentials
- Incentivizing Credentials of Value
- Collecting Data for Informed Credential Decisions
Additional Resources
The report can be read in full or via separate briefs, which can be found on the report webpage along with the following supplemental tools:
- A Tableau dashboard to explore and compare state approaches to credentialing with access to state responses to a national survey and credential attainment data of CTE concentrators by year, state, and subgroup
- A PowerBI dashboard of commonly requested credentials by employers (using real-time labor market information from 2024) organized by Career Cluster
- An Executive Summary of the report
This serves as Advance CTE’s tenth State of Career Technical Education (CTE) reports that provide a timely deep dive into key components of CTE policy and practice informed by state CTE leaders. This report and supplemental resources are generously supported by the the Joyce Foundation and Lumina Foundation.
View the accessible PDF version
