There’s a question every student eventually faces: What do I want to do with my life?
For many, the answer doesn’t come from a textbook. It comes from a conversation with a professional who lit up talking about their work, a hands-on project that clicked in a way lectures never did, or a class that made the future feel real and within reach. Career Technical Education, or CTE, is designed to create exactly those moments.
What Is CTE?
Career Technical Education is a program offered within California’s public school system that connects academic learning to real-world careers. Rather than replacing core subjects like math, English, or science, CTE courses are pathways that students choose to pursue alongside their standard coursework.
CTE courses integrate technical training and academics to help students develop the knowledge and skills needed for transitioning to career training, post-secondary education, and the workforce. They balance academics with real-world problem-solving across California’s 15 recognized industry sectors. These industry sectors span a wide range of fields, from Health Science and Information Technology to Engineering, Arts and Media, and Advanced Manufacturing. A student interested in medicine might enroll in a Health Sciences pathway. A student drawn to tech might pursue an IT or Engineering track. The idea is to give students early exposure to in-demand careers that could shape their futures, before they are expected to choose one.
How Does CTE Work in Los Angeles?
In the Los Angeles Unified School District, CTE is woven directly into the school day, making it accessible to students without requiring extra time or travel. Offerings can include dual enrollment courses that lead to a certificate or degree, career exploration, financial literacy, job shadows, work readiness mentorships, and internships.
For students who want to go deeper, CTE courses are also available after school or on Saturdays, where students can earn a certificate of completion and qualify for elective credit while continuing their regular high school coursework.
Students take a sequence of courses within their area of interest, connecting career interests from high school to college and beyond, and participate in work-based learning opportunities, including mentoring with industry professionals, job shadowing, and professional internships.
This last point is what makes CTE so powerful. It doesn’t just teach skills in the abstract. It puts students in direct contact with professionals working in the fields they are curious about, giving them a window into what those careers actually look and feel like.
This is where many districts face a critical gap: strong industry experience without the instructional support needed to translate that expertise into effective teaching.
The Challenge: Great Industry Professionals Don’t Always Come with Teaching Experience
CTE teachers are uniquely valuable precisely because they come from industry. A cybersecurity teacher who spent 15 years in tech, or a healthcare instructor who worked as a nurse, brings an authenticity to the classroom that no curriculum can manufacture.
But industry expertise and teaching expertise are two very different skill sets. A brilliant engineer or a seasoned healthcare professional may step into a classroom for the first time and find themselves without the pedagogical tools to effectively reach and engage students. Lesson planning, classroom management, differentiated instruction, and formative assessment are all learned skills. Most new CTE teachers enter the classroom without formal training in these areas. The result is that even the most talented professionals can struggle in their first years of teaching, and students lose out on the full benefit of what those teachers have to offer.
Where EnCorps Comes In
This is the gap that EnCorps was built to fill.
Founded in 2007, EnCorps is a California-based nonprofit with a singular mission: to bring STEM professionals into classrooms and ensure they have everything they need to thrive there. Over the years, EnCorps has recruited more than 2,000 STEM professionals and impacted over 317,000 students across more than 250 high-needs partner schools.
For CTE specifically, EnCorps runs the CTE Mentorship Alliance, a program designed to equip subject-matter experts with the pedagogical tools, mentorship, and workforce readiness foundation they need to become exceptional teachers.
EnCorps partners with school districts to strengthen their CTE teacher development efforts, working collaboratively to design mentorship opportunities that complement existing professional learning systems. The program supports districts in pairing new CTE teachers with experienced educators who share practical classroom strategies, guide them through project-based learning and inclusive instruction, and support them in building the habits that lead to long-term success. Monthly mentor and mentee meetings are compensated, ongoing, and specifically tailored to each teacher’s classroom context.
The impact is measurable. According to internal program data, 90% of first-year CTE teachers in LAUSD who participated in the program reported increased confidence and a stronger sense of professional community.
Why This Matters
As California continues to invest in career pathways and workforce development, the effectiveness of CTE programs depends not only on access but also on the strength of the educators leading them.
When a CTE teacher thrives, students feel it. They get an instructor who not only knows their subject deeply but can also communicate it clearly, build relationships with students, and create a classroom environment where curiosity is welcomed and ambition is nurtured.
That is what changes the trajectory of a student’s life. Not just exposure to a career field, but a mentor who makes it feel accessible.
CTE classes are one of the most powerful tools California has for preparing the next generation for the workforce. EnCorps is making sure the people leading those classes are as prepared as they can be.
Is your school district looking to strengthen its CTE teacher development efforts? Learn how EnCorps partners with districts to support and retain CTE teachers at encorps.org.