North Carolina high school students earned another record number of career and technical credentials this past school year, according to new data from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.
The department presented the data to the State Board of Education on Wednesday, highlighting some of the efforts taken by schools across the state to make sure students are more prepared for careers or college.
Students earned about 383,000 credentials during the 2024-25 school year, up about 25,000 from the year before, or 7%. It’s up 60% from the 239,000 earned during the 2021-22 school year.
It’s unclear how many students earned the credentials. The Department of Public Instruction reports that 36.1% of North Carolina’s public kindergarten through 12th grade students took a career and technical education course, the second-highest percentage in the country.
Taking a course doesn’t earn a student a credential or credit toward a credential, however. The state notes that the 382,000 credentials earned represents 59% of the credentials that could have been earned.
Leaders with Randolph County Schools said they make sure students are planning for their careers in middle school, doing research projects by eighth grade into potential career options for themselves. Randolph County Schools issued more than 9,300 credentials to students, one of the highest totals in the state.
Leaders with Pender County Schools said they incentivize students, teachers and schools. They print off color credential certificates for students to show off, reward teachers for having 75% of their students obtain a credential and recognize schools that have 90% of their students obtain a credential. They also hold bootcamps for students who took a CTE class but didn’t earn a credential in it, helping them earn the credential.
All of that, district CTE Director Dominique Bates told the board, “I really feel shifts the mind.”
In Pender County Schools, 88% of students who took a career and technical education class obtained a credential in it, one of the highest percentages in North Carolina.
WRAL reported earlier this year that North Carolina lawmakers, companies and education leaders have made significant pushes to increase students’ access to college coursework and career training. The state pays for the credentials, and schools and companies work together to offer courses.
Federal funding for the programs also requires counties to assess their local needs and tailor their offerings around that.
At many high schools in the state, students can earn enough credentials for a professional license, including for a certified nursing assistant.
Construction and health professions are some of the most popular and fastest-growing career and technical education offerings in North Carolina high schools, said Nancy Cross, DPI’s section chief of the Office of Career and Technical Education.
The state still has some work to do, DPI officials noted. While the demographics of students taking a CTE course mirror the student demographics across the state, much lower percentages of female, Black or economically disadvantaged students are earning a credential in them, data show.