18-1. Definition of Career and Technical Education

Career and Technical Education (“CTE”), formerly known as Education-to-Careers (“ETC”) and Practical Arts and Vocational Education (“PAVE”), are organized educational activities offering a sequence of courses that provides students with relevant technical knowledge and skills needed to prepare for further education and careers in current or emerging professions;

• provides technical skill proficiency, which may include an industry- recognized credential, a certificate, or an associate degree;
• includes competency-based applied learning that contributes to the academic knowledge, higher-order reasoning and problem-solving skills, work attitudes, general employability skills, technical skills, work-based learning experiences, and occupation- specific skills.

Career and Technical Education programs are organized as defined by the Illinois State Board of Education and the sixteen (16) nationally recognized Career Clusters—

• Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources
• Architecture & Construction
• Arts, A/V Technology & Communications
• Business Management & Administration
• Education & Training
• Finance
• Government & Public Administration
• Health Science
• Hospitality & Tourism
• Human Services
• Information Technology
• Law, Public Safety, Corrections & Security
• Manufacturing
• Marketing
• Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM)
• Transportation, Distribution & Logistics