After school programs are uniquely positioned to support CTE efforts by either advancing pre-employment skills or by supplementing and extending CTE efforts currently in place in the school.

• Provide time for additional exploration of CTE topics in a manner that complements but is different from school.
• Engage and motivate students with innovative, hands-on, project-based learning to provide important context for and engagement with subjects supporting CTE efforts.
• Connect students to valuable informal learning opportunities such as field trips to CTE-oriented workplaces and mentoring by professionals from the business and industry sectors.
• Be effective in improving access to CTE fields and careers among underrepresented populations – including women, African-Americans, and Hispanics.

Afterschool and Workforce Development: Helping Kids Compete (2009), produced by the Afterschool Alliance, examines factors addressing workforce and career development, recruitment and retention of older youth, dropout prevention, and mentoring.