U.S. Lacks Upper‑Secondary VET Track

OECD’s 2023 'Spotlight on VET' shows the United States differs from many peers by not offering a distinct, upper‑secondary vocational track; instead vocational learning in the U.S. is delivered as optional CTE courses alongside a universal academic high‑school diploma. That structural difference changes how young people transition to work or further vocational postsecondary programs and shapes labor‑market pipelines. — If the U.S. continues with optional CTE rather than a coherent VET pathway, it will affect skills formation, earnings mobility, and industrial policy—making VET structure a lever for workforce and economic strategy.