Career and Technical Education are Vital

The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future education reform plan sets a goal to increase the number of apprenticeships for high school juniors and seniors to 60,000 in seven years, and to ensure at least 45% of high school students complete a high-school level apprenticeship program by the 2030-31 school year...

Martin, a member of a national nonprofit organization called Explore The Trades, has a recommendation for the commission: figure out a solution to expand access to tax credits and grants for small business owners.

For instance, she said the average annual salary for a master plumber is $60,000. In addition, she said the average profit margin “after all the overhead” for most trade businesses range between 2% to 5%.

“We are in that range,” she said. “That’s all that’s left at the end of the day to build a work force. That is hard.”

Martin has a commission member who agrees with her: Sen. Mary Beth Carozza (R-Lower Shore).

Carozza said streamlining the process for businesses to receive approval for an apprenticeship program would help.

For the entire article in Maryland Matters, click here: https://www.marylandmatters.org/2023/11/01/career-and-technical-education-are-a-vital-focus-of-blueprint-reform-plan/