CAREER TECHNICAL EDUCATION (CTE) GAP ANALYSIS
The main purpose of Career Technical Education (CTE) is to prepare learners to be college and career ready by providing core academic and technical skills necessary for them to achieve their career goals and attain economic success. CTE programs are designed to provide students with these skills and serve as a talent pipeline for the labor market of their region.
A CTE gap analysis involves assessing the misalignments or gaps between the skills and knowledge students acquire through their education in CTE programs and the skills and knowledge that employers are looking for in the workforce.
Program enrollment serves as the supply side of the labor market and Annual openings are used as a proxy measure to estimate the demand side of the labor market. Annual openings are a combination of new jobs and replacement jobs.
Data used in this analysis are:
- The student enrollment in CTE programs for Maury County Public schools 2023-2024.
- Occupational projections for the Southern Middle Tennessee workforce region 2020-2030.
Data indicates that, currently, there are a total of 4321 students enrolled in CTE programs in Maury County Public Schools. Projections data indicates the number of annual openings in these clusters.
| Clusters | Student Enrollment | Annual Openings |
|---|---|---|
| Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources | 820 | 635 |
| Architecture & Construction | 89 | 959 |
| Arts, Audio/Video Technology & Communications | 382 | 36 |
| Business Management & Administration | 328 | 3,098 |
| Education & Training | 28 | 630 |
| Finance | 82 | 462 |
| Health Science | 877 | 1,316 |
| Hospitality & Tourism | 110 | 3,092 |
| Human Services | 340 | 540 |
| Information Technology | 80 | 156 |
| Law, Public Safety, Corrections & Security | 336 | 368 |
| Manufacturing | 238 | 2,108 |
| Marketing | 431 | 1,763 |
| Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics | 180 | 178 |
The graph below shows CTE completer data plotted against Annual openings for these clusters.
It can be inferred from the data and chart above that the clusters with a “surplus of students enrolled” are Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources and Arts, Audio/Video Technology & Communication. Similarly, clusters with a “shortage of students enrolled” are as noted below:
- Architecture & Construction
- Business Management & Administration
- Education & Training
- Finance
- Health Science
- Hospitality & Tourism
- Human Services
- Information Technology
- Law, Public Safety, Corrections & Security
- Manufacturing
- Marketing
The goal of this analysis is to enable policy and decision makers to address unmet needs, improve access to CTE programs, and help provide a more skilled workforce to aid in economic development in the region.
To learn more about the detailed occupations within each of these clusters, Explore Career Clusters.