State CTE director outlines programs, work‑based learning expansion and capital projects

Wade Sik, state director for the North Dakota Department of Career and Technical Education, told the North Dakota Senate Workforce Committee that the agency is expanding career and technical education (CTE) access, work‑based learning and capital projects intended to boost the state workforce.

Sik said the department recorded about 26,000 unduplicated high‑school students who took at least one CTE course in 2023–24 and that CTE concentrators — students who take at least two courses in the same career pathway — graduate at a much higher rate than the statewide average. "If the only thing we cared about in CTE was graduation rates, we're knocking it out of the park," Sik said, citing an overall cohort graduation rate near 82 percent and a 98 percent graduation rate for CTE concentrators.

The briefing summarized student outcomes, workforce partnerships and recent appropriations. Sik described work‑based learning as a priority, noting the department has used a $1.5 million legislative appropriation to fund 16 full‑ or part‑time work‑based learning coordinators with flat grants (up to $50,000 for a full‑time coordinator, prorated for part time). The department reported growth in placements by funded coordinators from roughly 1,061 placements in 2023 to about 22,100 placements in 2024 and said roughly 200 employers hosted work‑based learning students in 2024.

Why it matters: Committee members pressed the department about where hands‑on training takes place, how virtual CTE centers differ from physical centers and whether funding for current programs is ongoing. Sik said the $1.5 million for…