NRAEF : Blog

February is Career and Technical Education Month®, or CTE Month®, a public awareness campaign that takes place each February to celebrate the value of CTE and the achievements and accomplishments of CTE programs across the country.

Prostart is an industry-supported career and technical education program that offers the most effective courses in restaurant and foodservice, empowering students to reach their ultimate professional goals. Teamwork, communication, time management, and professionalism are skills taught in these courses, pushing young chefs to build their futures.

Here are some stats about ProStart® and CTE programs:

+ 95% of CTE students graduate high school, which is 10% higher than the national average.

+ 91 percent of high school graduates who earned 2-3 CTE credits enrolled in college.

+ Taking one CTE class for every two academic classes minimizes the risk of students dropping out of high school.

+ Students can attend public community and technical colleges for a fraction of the cost of tuition at other institutions: $3,520, on average, in 2016-2017.

+ Technical and applied science graduates earn $2,000 to 11,000 more per year than those with a bachelor’s degree.

+ ProStart currently reaches 150,000 students in more than 1,900 high schools, across 50 states, Guam and the Department of Defense Education Activity schools in Europe and the Pacific.

+ The ProStart® National Certificate of Achievement (COA) is awarded to students who have completed 2 years of courses and 400 hours of mentored work experience. This certificate offers benefits during the job search and allows for collegiate opportunity.

Here’s a look at the skills ProStart teaches students: