What the Workforce Demands: How CTE Classrooms Build Technical and Transferable Skills 

Imagine a health sciences student who has mastered the technical skills needed to perform a procedure. During a clinical experience, the student is asked to coordinate with other members of the team and lead them through the process. 

The student can confidently perform the assigned technical tasks, but they struggle to delegate responsibilities and communicate effectively with teammates. As a result, the team may be less prepared to make informed decisions if complications arise. 

Technical knowledge and skills equip students to perform industry-specific tasks. But what happens when students lack the leadership, communication, and collaboration skills needed to work effectively with colleagues and take on greater responsibility? 

Career and technical education (CTE) programs can prepare students not only to pursue careers across a variety of industries, but also to collaborate effectively, take on leadership roles, and thrive in the workplace. 

Why Transferable Skills Matter 

Transferable skills—also known as durable, workplace, professional, or employability skills—are competencies that can be applied across industries and occupations. Frameworks from organizations such as America Succeeds and the U.S. Department of Education identify communication, critical thinking, collaboration, leadership, and project management among the foundational skills that contribute to career success and economic mobility. 

Research from Advance CTE shows that employers value both technical and transferable skills and view CTE experience favorably. In its national survey of 315 employers, flexibility and adaptability, job-specific skills, motivation to continue learning, and interpersonal skills were among the qualifications most valued when hiring recent graduates. After learning more about CTE, 83% of respondents said they would be more likely to hire an applicant with CTE experience. At the same time, research from Rutgers University documents the growth of skills-based hiring practices, while YouScience’s 2025 Post-Graduation Readiness Report points to growing student interest in practical, career-focused pathways. Together, these trends reinforce the need to prepare students with both the technical expertise and transferable skills required to enter—and thrive in—the workforce. 

As the nation faces projected worker shortages, CTE programs are uniquely positioned to respond. By connecting students with authentic learning and career-development experiences, these programs can strengthen students’ ability to communicate, collaborate, and lead while applying their industry expertise. 

Five Ways CTE Programs Can Develop Students’ Transferable Skills 

CTE leaders and educators can take several practical steps to make transferable-skill development an intentional part of the student experience. 

1. Adopt an Explicit Framework or Curriculum

Use a framework or curriculum that intentionally develops leadership, communication, collaboration, and other workplace skills. 

Leader in Me’s Life-Ready Leadership Curriculum helps students develop the mindsets and skills to lead themselves, collaborate with others, and prepare for life beyond the classroom. 

2. Include Transferable Skills in Competency and Assessment Rubrics

When transferable skills are included in rubrics, students receive a clear message that how they communicate, collaborate, and solve problems matters alongside the quality of their technical work. 

Idaho’s Workplace Readiness Assessment, for example, evaluates the technical skills, professional skills, and personal qualities expected of CTE students. 

3. Partner With Employers to Create Authentic Learning Experiences

Build relationships with employers that give students opportunities to apply technical and transferable skills in real workplace settings. 

Experiences such as youth apprenticeships allow students to explore careers while developing the communication, problem-solving, teamwork, and leadership skills required on the job. Employers can also contribute by providing realistic scenarios for classroom projects, reviewing student work, offering feedback, helping educators identify emerging workforce needs, and engaging with learners in career and technical student organizations. 

4. Give Students Opportunities to Reflect

Encourage students to reflect on the skills they are developing, identify areas for growth, and connect those competencies to their career goals. 

Personalized education and career plans can help students recognize the careers and competencies that align with their interests, strengths, and aspirations. Reflection also helps students learn to describe their skills clearly to future employers. 

5. Invest in Educator Learning

Encourage educators to participate in professional learning that provides new strategies and applications for the classroom. The Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE), state ACTE affiliates, industry partners, and other professional-learning providers can help educators remain connected to workforce expectations and promising practices in CTE.  

Educators can also explore CTE Learn and ACTE’s High-Quality CTE Tools for courses, frameworks, research, and other resources designed to support high-quality CTE programs. 

Continued learning also gives educators opportunities to exchange ideas with peers and explore new ways to integrate transferable skills into technical instruction. 

Three Key Takeaways 

• Technical and transferable skills work together. Technical skills prepare students to perform industry-specific tasks, while transferable skills help them communicate, collaborate, lead, and adapt. 

• CTE classrooms are natural environments for developing leadership. Authentic projects, employer partnerships, and work-based learning give students opportunities to practice these skills in context. 

• Transferable skills should be developed intentionally. Frameworks, assessment rubrics, reflection, and educator learning can make these competencies a visible and measurable part of CTE instruction. 

Preparing Students to Thrive 

Today’s workforce requires students to demonstrate the skills employers seek. As one employer told America Succeeds: 

“We’ll hire the lowest-ranked technical candidate with durable skills over the top-ranked one without them.” 

The best CTE classrooms do not ask students to choose between technical expertise and transferable skills. They intentionally develop both—and give students authentic opportunities to apply them together. 

To support students’ future success and meet the needs of an evolving economy, CTE administrators, educators, coordinators, and other program leaders can leverage intentional curricula, employer partnerships, work-based experiences, assessment, reflection, and professional learning to prepare students not only to enter the workforce, but to thrive throughout their careers. 

 

Written by:   

LeAnn Curry is the executive director of the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTaE), the nation’s largest not-for-profit association committed to empowering educators to deliver high-quality career and technical education (CTE) programs that position students for career success. Since taking the helm at ACTE in 2013, LeAnn has focused on expanding services, resources, member engagement, and advocacy efforts to support CTE professionals nationwide. 

  

Arik Shur is the managing director of strategic partnerships for FranklinCovey Education. Arik has spent nearly two decades building partnerships with educational institutions, funders, nonprofits, businesses, and workforce development groups across the United States to help educators and schools have the resources they need to unleash students’ potential.