Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2025
DOI
10.5328/cter50.2.32
Publication Title
Career and Technical Education Research
Volume
50
Issue
2
Pages
32-51
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine whether industry-recognized credentials (IRCs) earned in secondary school led to quality employment and which IRCs should be integrated into career and technical education (CTE) high school courses. Using survey data from business leaders across the 14 nationally recognized Career Clusters (Advance CTE, 2024a), credentials were ranked by importance within five program areas (n = 257). Pareto analysis revealed 80% of respondents rated health sciences, family and consumer sciences, and agricultural sciences credentials highest, while business/marketing and skilled/technical sciences/STEM credentials did not rank in the top 20%. This research provides empirical evidence for prioritizing specific IRCs in secondary CTE programs that lead to higher quality jobs, higher pay, and a job to support a family. Career and technical education programs should consider each certification's value and select the most beneficial ones.
Rights
© 2025 The Authors.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) License.
ORCID
0000-0002-9323-5217 (Reed)
Original Publication Citation
Harris, T., Kosloski, M., & Reed, P. A. (2025). Employers' perceived value of high school industry recognized credentials. Career and Technical Education Research, 50(2), 32-51. https://doi.org/10.5328/cter50.2.32
Repository Citation
Harris, Teri; Kosloski, Mickey; and Reed, Philip A., "Employers' Perceived Value of High School Industry Recognized Credentials" (2025). Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications. 200.
https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/efl_fac_pubs/200
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