Workforce Policy
New Joint Center Brief Explores Career and Technical Education Programs’ Impact on Improving Economic Mobility for Black Workers
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dec. 3, 2025
Contact:
Kennedy Fortner, kennedy.fortner@jointcenter.org
New Joint Center Brief Explores Career and Technical Education Programs’ Impact on Improving Economic Mobility for Black Workers
The issue brief provides policy recommendations as Congress considers Perkins V reauthorization
WASHINGTON — Today, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies published an issue brief titled “Breaking Barriers in Career and Technical Education: Centering Black Students in Perkins Reauthorization.” The brief examines how The Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act, or Perkins V, influences the experiences of Black learners in career and technical education (CTE) programs and offers legislative proposals as Congress considers the reauthorization of Perkins V.
In 2018, Perkins V committed $1.2 billion in annual funding to CTE programs, which expired in 2024 and needs to be renewed in Fiscal Year 2026. Perkins V mandates states to collaborate with local school districts and institutions of higher education to decide which CTE programs to offer. CTE programs provide students coursework, career exposure, and career opportunities at high schools, community colleges, and technical colleges to enter occupations within advanced manufacturing, construction, hospitality, financial services, agriculture, marketing and sales, and more. Nationally, roughly 12 million students participate in CTE programs and in the 2022–23 academic year Black students made up 13 percent of national secondary enrollment in CTE programs.
Black students participate in CTE programs at rates comparable to national demographics, but they are overrepresented in service-oriented fields and have less access to programs in STEM and IT. Longstanding funding gaps and geographic disparities limit the opportunities available to students in predominantly Black communities. As a result, outcomes remain uneven as Black CTE students earn, on average, more than $8,200 less than their white peers with similar credentials and are less likely to enroll in postsecondary programs after high school compared to all other races.
“Earlier this year, the administration moved the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education from the Department of Education to the Department of Labor. This raises real concerns for the program’s effectiveness and the efficiency of support services for state administrators. Some states have already reported waiting months for their Perkins funding with little communication or support from the administration,” said co-author Joint Center Workforce Policy Director Dr. Kayla Elliott. “Last month, the administration started moving even more responsibilities and programs away from the Department of Education to the Departments of Labor, Interior, State, and Health and Human Services. As Congress prepares to reauthorize Perkins V, they will have to contend with even more complexity.”
The following policy recommendations offer ways to enhance CTE programs to support Black workers as states prepare to submit their Perkins V plans and Congress considers reauthorization:
- Increase funding in the next reauthorization of the Perkins Act;
- Improve CTE teacher recruitment, development, compensation, and retention;
- Support the coordination and alignment of education and workforce development activities;
- Reinvigorate the narratives about CTE pathways; and
- Improve standards for the collection, quality, and reporting of CTE data.
Joint Center President Dedrick Asante-Muhammad added, “Research shows that Black students are often underrepresented in high-wage fields. And compared to their white peers, Black students enrolled in these programs are more likely to enter careers with lower earnings and face a reduced likelihood of transferring, completing a degree or a credential, or securing a job related to their program. These disparities are major barriers to increasing the earning potential of Black workers and learners and to narrowing the racial wealth divide. The reauthorization of Perkins V is a necessary step forward to ensuring Black students are not left behind in emerging industries and to prevent the racial wealth divide from widening even further.”
In this brief, the Joint Center utilizes findings from 21 interviews with CTE experts, including current and former CTE students, state directors, association staff, career and technical student organization staff, state and federal advocacy organizations, workforce development boards and organizations, training providers, and researchers from academia and national think tanks to help inform the policy recommendations.
To read the brief and learn more, click here.
###
About the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies
The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, America’s Black think tank, provides compelling and actionable policy solutions to eradicate persistent and evolving barriers to the full freedom of Black people in America. We are the trusted forum for leading experts and scholars to participate in major public policy debates and promote ideas that advance Black communities. We use evidence-based research, analysis, convenings, and strategic communications to support Black communities and a network of allies.
