Unlocking Opportunities: Understanding Connections Between Noncredit CTE Programs and Workforce Development in Virginia

IES highlights Di Xu and her colleagues work on Virginia’s “FastForward” noncredit CTE programs provide a vital, low-barrier pathway for underrepresented students to gain high-demand industry credentials. Their findings indicate that these short-term programs lead to significant completion rates and immediate boosts in quarterly earnings, offering an effective alternative to traditional credit-bearing degrees for workforce development.