Career Clusters and Programs of Study

Career Clusters are broad groupings of occupations/career specialties, organized by common knowledge and skills required for career success. There are 16 Career ClustersTM and 79 related pathways (subgroupings of occupations/career specialties). Supported by the 2006 Perkins legislation, Career ClustersTM are an organizing tool for curriculum design, school guidance, and a framework for seamless transition to career and college.

All NC CTE courses align to the Career Clusters. Each course is placed in a Career Cluster based on a set of knowledge and skills common to all careers in the entire Career Cluster. Industry-validated knowledge and skills statements of student expectations identify what the student should know and be able to do. They prepare students for success in a broad range of occupations/career specialties.