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CTE directors describe capacity limits, program wait lists, apprenticeships and adult‑education offerings
Summary
Directors of Vermont CTE centers told the committee that demand for programs exceeds capacity in many areas, that facility and equipment differences create unequal opportunities across centers, and that centers already run apprenticeships, industry certifications and adult‑education courses.
Directors from multiple regional career and technical education centers told the House committee that program demand, facility differences and staffing raise practical limits on expanding access without added investment.
Eric Remmers, director of Green Mountain Tech in Hyde Park, said his center is a full‑day campus serving five high schools and currently enrolls about 157 full‑day students. “About half my programs are approaching wait list or are on wait list for next year,” he said, naming electrical, allied health and construction among the programs with persistent demand.
Remmers described how full‑day centers integrate academics with hands‑on instruction and noted programs that generate revenue or community service: construction students build a house on site each year that is sold, the culinary program operates a public restaurant seasonally, and forestry and sustainable‑agriculture sites sell maple syrup and produce. He also described existing industry pathways and certifications: CompTIA and other credential testing, cooperative paid internships that advance apprentice levels, HVAC licensure courses for adults, and welding classes for the public.
Pat Gookin, director at St. Johnsbury Academy's Applied Technology Center, described a different model: St. Johnsbury operates as a comprehensive high school where CTE programs are embedded on the same campus as other academics. He said the Academy had 392 students enrolled in CTE classes last semester (102 FTE by Agency of Education accounting) and described the model's advantages for scheduling, transportation and shared supports.
Directors warned that center resources vary widely across the state. Remmers said Green Mountain Tech benefited from federal rebuild funds in the 2000s and that some centers lack comparable industry‑grade space or equipment. Several witnesses argued that a regional coordinating body could deliver shared professional development, centralized certification testing capacity, and a coordinated approach to pre‑tech and middle‑grade outreach—but they also cautioned the details of any governance change will determine whether those benefits arrive.
No committee action was taken; lawmakers asked staff to gather additional data on enrollment, program capacity, facility condition and adult‑education and apprenticeship uptake.
