When ninth graders at Penn Hills High School walk into the PHorge Robotics lab, they are not sitting through a lecture on theoretical engineering concepts. They are earning an industry certification in Mechanical Foundations — a credential recognized by advanced manufacturers across the Commonwealth — before they even finish their freshman year. Those who stay in the pathway can earn four additional credentials and graduate with a pre-apprenticeship designation as a Robotics Technician, qualifying them for direct entry into registered apprenticeship programs with Pittsburgh-area employers.
Penn Hills is one of 47 school districts in the Pittsburgh region now reaping the benefits of what Governor Josh Shapiro’s administration calls the largest investment in Pennsylvania public education history. And for CTE programs across the state — including those in Philadelphia — the funding model on display in Western Pennsylvania offers a roadmap for what expanded career readiness programming can look like when state dollars meet local employer partnerships.
The Numbers Behind the Investment
Since taking office in 2023, Governor Shapiro has directed more than $2 billion in additional funding to K-12 public schools. Within that total, funding for Career and Technical Education and apprenticeships has increased by $65 million — a 50 percent increase over baseline levels. The results are already measurable: more than 3,000 additional students have enrolled in CTE and career readiness programming supported by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, and the state was recently recognized in a national study for leading all states in middle school career exploration.
For CTE instructors and program coordinators, these numbers translate into something concrete: more shop sections, more credential prep courses, and more employer partnerships that allow students to demonstrate competencies on real job sites rather than solely in simulated lab environments.
The Shapiro Administration’s Schools-to-Work initiative, administered through the Department of Labor and Industry, has supported 52 programs statewide and connected 2,295 students with hands-on training, classroom instruction, mentorship, and direct pathways to employment and apprenticeship opportunities since January 2023. Since the start of the administration, more than 42,000 Pennsylvanians have participated in registered apprenticeships or pre-apprenticeships. The contrast is stark: Pennsylvania registered just 18 new apprenticeship programs in 2022. Under the Shapiro Administration, that figure has grown to 254 new pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs.
What It Looks Like on the Ground
The PHorge Robotics pathway at Penn Hills High School illustrates how state grants translate into CTE program capacity. The program is supported by two Shapiro Administration grants: a $75,000 PAsmart grant from PDE to expand CTE programming, and a nearly $200,000 grant from L&I to support the expansion of Carnegie Mellon’s Robotics Academy pre-apprenticeship program serving Allegheny County. Students who complete the full credential sequence are not just college-ready in a general sense — they hold documented competencies that map directly to employer needs in robotics and advanced manufacturing.
Butler Area School District offers another model. Students there are gaining real-world experience and earning college credits through a Butler County Community College program that rotates them through internships at local businesses like Butler Hospital. PDE’s Dual Credit Innovation Grant Program, which has already distributed $21 million under Governor Shapiro’s leadership, funds these partnerships at no cost to students or their families. For CTE completers, this means stacking dual-enrollment credits on top of industry credentials — a combination that positions them for either immediate employment or accelerated postsecondary pathways.
Burrell School District has used additional state funding to hire learning coaches and future readiness facilitators who integrate structured literacy, math, and career-connected learning into their instruction. At the high school level, these educators use personalized learner profiles to guide students toward industry pathways and reimagine the senior year as a transition period into registered apprenticeships, employer-sponsored capstone projects, or postsecondary credential programs rather than a holding pattern before graduation.
What This Means for Philadelphia CTE Programs
The Pittsburgh coalition model — 47 districts organizing around shared employer partnerships, credential pathways, and state-funded CTE expansion — has a direct parallel in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Philadelphia’s School District operates one of the largest CTE infrastructures in the state, with programs spanning construction trades, health sciences, information technology, hospitality, and advanced manufacturing. Programs like the Academy for Construction Technology at Philadelphia Electrical Technology High School and the health sciences pathways at Randolph Career Academy already produce graduates with industry credentials aligned to employer demand.
The Shapiro Administration’s proposed 2026-27 budget includes an additional $18 million for CTE and apprenticeship programs, a doubling of Schools-to-Work funding to $7 million, and another $7 million for dual-credit programs. If approved, these allocations would give Philadelphia CTE programs the resources to scale what Pittsburgh districts are already demonstrating: that employer-connected credential pathways, funded through state grants and supported by workforce boards like the Philadelphia Workforce Development Corporation and PA CareerLink, produce measurable outcomes in credential attainment, apprenticeship entry, and job placement.
Four-year graduation rates in Pennsylvania have increased from 87.6 percent in 2023-24 to 88.0 percent in 2024-25, the third consecutive year of increase. Over the past two years, 2,000 more students have graduated on time, and 79,000 more students have attended school more regularly. For CTE programs, where hands-on lab attendance directly correlates with credential completion, improved attendance rates are a leading indicator of program quality.
The Bottom Line for CTE Instructors and Students
The story out of Pittsburgh is not just about money. It is about what happens when state investment is paired with intentional program design: industry credentials embedded in course sequences, employer mentors integrated into CTE instruction, and apprenticeship pathways that begin before graduation rather than after it. The 47 districts in the Future-Driven Schools coalition, supported by Remake Learning and state grants, have demonstrated that CTE programs can simultaneously serve students who will enter the workforce immediately and students who will pursue further education — because both groups benefit from documented, employer-verified competencies.
For CTE instructors across Pennsylvania, the message from the Shapiro Administration is clear: the funding is available, the employer partnerships are scalable, and the state is measuring success not by test scores alone but by credential attainment, apprenticeship enrollment, and whether graduates leave school with the skills employers actually need. The pre-apprentices running robots at Penn Hills High School are proof that the model works.
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Source: “Historic Investments in Public Education and Career Readiness Programs Under Governor Shapiro Are Fueling Innovation and Partnerships Among Coalition of 47 Pittsburgh Area School Districts” — Pennsylvania Department of Education, May 14, 2026. pa.gov | PhillyCTE
