No matter where I travel in New York, I hear the same thing from public school parents, teachers, students and community members — Career and Technical Education programs WORK.
Across the state, these programs give kids experiential hands-on learning in industries like healthcare, business, culinary, information technology, manufacturing or a skilled trade.
And the numbers back this up. The graduation rate for career and technical education programs is consistently higher than the national average for all academic programs. Many graduates leave school with industry-recognized certifications that put them in high demand from day one.
These are not just entry-level jobs; they are careers — careers that support families, pay a competitive wage, and are in high demand. In fields like nursing, construction, logistics, and manufacturing, these are jobs facing the greatest workforce shortages today.
So this should be a no-brainer, right? Students want these programs. Schools want to offer them. Employers are desperate for more skilled workers. Win-win-win.
Unfortunately, this pipeline has a leak.
Despite their proven success, many of the groundbreaking career and technical education programs developed by New York’s Boards of Cooperative Educational Services, or BOCES, are hampered by old, outdated funding formulas that make them difficult to access for all students who want and need them.
Right now, the state only reimburses a fraction of the costs associated with BOCES instructors and that reimbursement is capped at an amount set way back in 1992 — more than three decades ago, an era when gas was a dollar and 13 cents.
As a result, local funding is left to make up the difference. For too many regions, especially those in under-resourced areas, schools are forced to make the difficult decision to limit access to these vital programs.
This is not just an educational issue. It’s an economic issue, and it’s a workforce issue.
Every time a student gets turned away from a career and technical education program due to lack of funding, we lose out—not just that student, but also the employers who need them, the industries that rely on them, and the communities that benefit from their work.
Employers across the state, from small businesses to major hospitals, are telling us the same thing: They need more skilled workers.
Let’s take healthcare, for example, a field where worker shortages remain widespread and have far-reaching consequences for our most vulnerable populations.
In a recent report by the Center for Health Workforce Studies, over 94% of nursing homes reported challenges in recruiting Certified Nurse Assistants (CNAs) and home health aides in New York. Why? Because there simply aren’t enough trained workers.
But when I recently visited a health careers BOCES program that trains students in CNA and home health positions, I learned that the program had more than 200 students on a waitlist just to get in.
The workforce pipeline is broken, and it’s up to us to fix it. Imagine the impact of expanding these programs: more students graduating with certifications, more local hospitals and clinics staffed, and more patients receiving the care they need.
The good news is that this is a fixable problem.
Lawmakers in Albany have the power to update the funding formulas and remove the financial obstacles that are holding back these programs and our students. By raising the outdated cap on state reimbursement for BOCES instructors, we can make these programs more accessible to students and ensure schools have the resources they need to meet the growing demand.
This isn’t about creating a new program — it’s about making sure an already successful system actually works the way it’s supposed to — to reflect the realities of today.
Every student in New York—no matter their zip code—deserves a shot at a career that sets them up for success. And New York’s economy depends on making sure we have a strong, skilled workforce.
Because when we invest in career and technical education, we’re not just investing in students; we’re investing in New York’s future.
Let’s work together to ensure that every student who wants to pursue a career in a high-demand field has the chance to do so. Let’s fix the workforce pipeline and build a stronger New York for everyone.
Melinda Person is president of the nearly 700,000-member New York State United Teachers.
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