Enrollment Rising for Indiana Career and Technical Education
Kyanne Bailey is a 17-year old welder, business owner, and A student.
Before graduating from high school, Kyanne Bailey became an accomplished welder and a business owner.
KENDALLVILLE, IN, UNITED STATES, June 5, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Kyanne Bailey is 17-year-old welder, an A student, and an entrepreneur. She maintains a 3.96 grade point average while building and selling heavy-duty goat chutes across the Midwest. She’s going to be a professional welder, she says, and credits her early business success to specialized training during high school.
Kyanne is part of a growing number of Indiana high school students who are taking Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses as they prepare for the workforce or postsecondary education.
During the 2025-2026 school year, 259,789 Hoosier high schoolers enrolled in CTE courses, an increase of 2.65% from the previous year, according to the Indiana Association of Career and Technical Education Districts (IACTED), citing data from the Indiana Commission for Higher Education Office of Career and Technical Education.
Other benchmarks also give evidence of CTE’s growing impact. Increasing numbers of CTE students are completing 75 or more hours of work-based learning in their program of study (up from 8,133 in 2023-2024 to 9,963 in 2024-2025). A greater percentage of high school CTE students go on to obtain a postsecondary credential (up from 14.13% in 2023-2024 to 17.46% in 2024-2025).
Career and Technical Education, offered through Indiana's 54 CTE districts, delivers hands-on training for skilled, high-demand careers in a variety of industry sectors. CTE courses are integrated into participating students' high-school curriculum.
“Across Indiana, we are seeing strong and steady growth in career and technical education participation, and even more importantly, in the outcomes students are achieving through certifications, work-based learning, and dual credit opportunities,” said Steve Rogers, president of IACTED. “These experiences are changing trajectories and opening real pathways to careers, college, and lifelong success. IACTED is proud to support educators and programs across the state in strengthening and expanding these opportunities so every student has access to meaningful options.”
For Kyanne Bailey, who lives on a farm in Kendallville, Indiana, CTE programs in her district have enhanced her pursuit of a welding career. Kyanne's experience debunks many myths about studying for a career in the trades, such as it's not a path for females or top students, or that college is the only route to a well-paying career.
“I used to want to be a writer and go to college and whatnot,” she says. “But I think more people should go into the trades instead of college. Generally speaking, the trades are for kids who want to be hands-on, who want to be doing things. I’m that way. I don’t want to sit at a desk all day."
“Welding is something I enjoy. It’s a way to learn valuable skills and make good money. Welding has already carried me farther in life than school or sports.”
Through CTE, Kyanne has earned industry-recognized certifications that will make her a prized recruit when she is ready to start her career in earnest.
Her experience outside the school environment will also help. She began welding at 12 years old when she fashioned decorative items from horseshoes. That led to KP Creations – the goat chute enterprise – where she not only plies her trade as a welder but also has learned the necessities of running a business.
She’s also begun making free-standing livestock panels to contain animals.
“I just want to keep doing different things and constantly learn,” she says. “I’ll never stop learning.”
She says the experience, skills and work ethic students get in CTE give them a leg up: “When they go looking for a job, they're going to be ready.”
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About IACTED: The Indiana Association of Career and Technical Education Districts (IACTED) is a consortium of Career and Technical Education directors working to collaboratively advance and elevate the quality, relevance, and accessibility of career and technical education programming across Indiana. The association achieves this through shared expertise, strategic initiatives, advocacy, and the proactive development of a skilled workforce to meet the evolving needs of our communities and the broader economy. More information is available at www.iacted.org
Steve Rogers
Indiana Association of Career & Technical Education District
+1 317-532-6151
srogers@warren.k12.in.us
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