North Central Kansas Technical College and Hays High School are partnering in the state’s new Career and Technical Education program, which encourages students to earn an industry-recognized technical certificate in a key occupation.
The CTE initiative covers student tuition cost for technical courses and rewards school districts with a $1,000 payment for each of their students who complete the certificate.
A $20,000 check for the Hays school district was presented Wednesday morning by 111th District Representative Sue Boldra of Hays to representatives of Hays High and NCK Technical College. They were flanked by several students who have completed the program, which is designed to meet the increasing business demand for a well-trained workforce.
Last school year 703 Kansas students earned industry-recognized certificates in health, construction, manufacturing and automotive, an increase of 28 percent from the previous year.