North Carolina CTE Pathway Profile

North Carolina at a glance

North Carolina runs secondary CTE through the NC Department of Public Instruction (DPI) and its local school districts (LEAs). Most programs sit inside comprehensive high schools; a few districts run regional skills centers, but no statewide shared-time area-center structure was found. Community colleges, through Career and College Promise (CCP) dual enrollment, serve as the off-campus option. Every CTE course comes from the state CTE Course Inventory, published in the Course Management System (CMS) run with NC State; a local course needs DPI approval. For 2026-27, DPI moved to the Advance CTE modernized framework (14 clusters), renaming clusters such as Construction, Healthcare and Human Services, and Public Service and Safety while keeping legacy pathway codes such as HPCP, ELTR, WELD and CARP (Confirmed).

The career planning requirement is set in statute. Under G.S. 115C-158.10, every middle and high school student in a district must have a career development plan. The plan must be created before a student is promoted from 8th grade and revised before promotion from 10th grade, and a student new to high school completes one within 90 days of enrolling (Confirmed). Districts may require more frequent updates.

The articulation backbone has two parts. CCP gives juniors and seniors, and since 2025 some freshmen and sophomores in listed technical areas, tuition-waived community college courses, including CTE and workforce continuing education pathways that lead to credentials such as Nurse Aide I. The statewide High School to Community College Articulation Agreement awards college credit for specific CTE courses when you meet its grade and post-assessment conditions (Confirmed; see the articulation section).

What is most different about North Carolina for someone starting a pathway: state child labor rules are stricter than federal law. 13 NCAC 12 .0406 bars under-18 workers from any work as an electrician or electrician’s helper, welding and torch cutting, and work with a fall risk of 10 feet or more, unless the student is a registered apprentice, an FLSA student-learner, or covered by a Supervised Practice agreement that NCDOL approves before the student starts (Confirmed). Allow about 60 days for approval. Whether the bars also reach confined spaces and respirator work: Confirm with NCDOL. Every under-18 worker needs a youth employment certificate. Seven safety-sensitive teaching license areas, including Health Science-RN, Construction and Welding, cannot be issued provisionally, so you must hire a teacher who already meets the experience and pre-teaching credential gates (Confirmed).

North Carolina also has the most complete state nurse aide curriculum among the states reviewed (DHSR), and DPI has served as the statewide NCCER sponsor for public schools since 2009. Each participating school still applies for NCCER accreditation and pays an application fee (fee amount: Confirm with the agency).

Who approves what in North Carolina

Opening a state-approved CTE program in North Carolina

You open a program by choosing state courses and having DPI approve your district’s annual local application. The steps below come from the DPI CTE Fiscal and Policy Guide (Jan. 2025) and the 2026 compliance supplement. For the full cross-state sequence, see Launching a CTE Pathway: Sequence and Approvals Timeline and the Approvals and Applications toolkit.

1. Pick courses from the CMS. Use the 2026-27 CTE Course Inventory and the pathway pages in the Course Management System. A course that is not in the inventory is a local course option and needs DPI approval (Confirmed).
2. Document need and meet the statutory conditions. G.S. 115C-154.1 requires documented need based on student demand, or on student and labor market demand for a new job-skill program; a licensed CTE teacher; a business advisory council for the local board; and equipment that meets the DPI CTE Equipment Guide (Confirmed). The current location of the Equipment Guide was not found (Confirm with the agency).
3. File the annual local application. Programs are approved through the Local Application System inside the CCIP (Comprehensive Continuous Improvement Plan). No new-course deadline was found in the fiscal guide (Confirm with the agency for the 2027-28 window).
4. Funding tie. State CTE funds (PRC 013 months of employment and PRC 014 program support) are released only after DPI approves the local application (Confirmed).
5. Add the credential if it is not on the list. Submit a CTE Credential Application between Oct. 1 and July 1; approved credentials take effect the next school year (Confirmed).
6. Complete second-agency approvals. Nurse Aide I needs DHSR approval of the program, each RN instructor and each clinical site before students start; DHSR publishes no review time (Confirm with the agency). EMT courses must run through an OEMS-credentialed EMS Educational Institution. NCCER credentials need school accreditation under DPI’s statewide sponsorship. Cosmetology needs a Board school license (G.S. 88B-16), and students may perform dental assisting functions only in a Dental Board-approved course (G.S. 90-29(c)(10)) (Confirmed).
7. Plan work-based learning filings. An NCDOL Supervised Practice agreement for a 16- or 17-year-old in a state-barred task must be approved by NCDOL before the student starts the task (Confirmed). Submit it about 60 days ahead to leave time for approval.

A realistic plan files the local application in the spring before launch and files any regulator application (DHSR, OEMS, Board) four to five months before the first class. North Carolina regulators publish no processing times.

Funding streams for North Carolina CTE

No dedicated state CTE equipment grant or facilities fund was found for North Carolina (Confirm with the agency). PRC 014 states no rule on facilities or renovation. DPI’s Facilities Guidelines (rev. Jan. 2019) give advisory lab sizes, for example 2,000 to 2,500 sq ft for Health Occupations and 1,600 to 2,000 sq ft for Welding/Electrical Trades; these are recommended minimums, not standards (Confirmed). See the Facilities and Equipment toolkit.

Pathway rules at a glance

Course codes are from the 2026-27 CMS unless noted. HPCP, EMMT, WELD, HVAC, NESE, CNEN and NEAD are approved CCP CTE pathways (Confirmed); CCP status for ELTR, CARP and the programming pathways: Confirm in the CMS.

Wave 2 pathways

Working with minors in North Carolina

For the cross-state rules and agreement templates, see Working with Minors in CTE Pathways and the Clinical and Work-Based Learning Partnerships toolkit.

Youth employment certificate. Every under-18 employee needs a youth employment certificate, signed by all parties before the first workday. NCDOL guidance (rev. April 13, 2022) says a certificate runs one year, to age 18, or to graduation, whichever comes first (Confirmed).

School-year hours for 16- and 17-year-olds. Federal law sets no hour limits at 16 and 17. North Carolina bars work between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. before a school day unless a parent and the principal approve in writing (G.S. 95-25.5) (Confirmed).

State hazardous-work bars beyond federal law. 13 NCAC 12 .0406 bars under-18 youth from:

• any work as an electrician or electrician’s helper (no federal equivalent);
• welding, brazing and torch cutting;
• any work with a fall risk of 10 feet or more, including ladders and scaffolds;
• work in confined spaces;
• work that requires a respirator. Electrician’s helper, welding and the 10-foot fall risk: Confirmed. Confined spaces and respirator work: Confirm with NCDOL.

These bars sit on top of the federal Hazardous Occupations Orders. Federal HO 2 (driving and outside helper), HO 7 (forklifts, cranes, scissor and boom lifts, and power-driven patient lifts) and HO 15 (demolition) have no student-learner or apprentice exemption in any state (Confirmed). Nurse aide students aged 16 and 17 may only assist with patient lifts under the conditions in DOL Field Assistance Bulletin 2011-3, after completing nurse aide training (Confirmed). Farm jobs are not exempt from North Carolina youth employment rules; whether the .0406 bars reach farm work: Confirm with NCDOL.

Exemption routes and filing. A student may do a state-barred task only through one of three routes (Confirmed):

1. Registered apprenticeship through ApprenticeshipNC, open from age 16.
2. FLSA student-learner in a cooperative vocational program, with a written agreement that meets 29 CFR 570.50(c). This also opens federal HOs 5, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 17.
3. NCDOL Supervised Practice Youth Work-Based Experience Agreement under G.S. 95-25.5(k1), for ages 16 and 17 in paid work at minimum wage or higher. The student, parent, employer and principal sign it, and you send it to the NCDOL Wage and Hour Bureau (dol.youthintern@labor.nc.gov) for approval before the student starts. Plan on about 60 days.

Whether a student already covered as an FLSA student-learner also needs a Supervised Practice agreement: Confirm with NCDOL. No statute assigns workers’ compensation for unpaid work-based learning students; confirm coverage with your carrier, your risk pool and the NC Industrial Commission (Confirm with the agency).

Teacher certification routes for CTE in North Carolina

The governing document is the DPI CTE Licensure Policies and Procedures Manual, approved April 3, 2025 and effective July 1, 2025 (Confirmed by live check). Whether a 2026 edition has replaced it: Confirm with the agency. For staffing options across states, see the Staffing toolkit.

CTE Restricted route. A new hire from industry receives an Initial Professional License on the CTE Restricted route (program code 35), requested by the district through DPI. By the end of year 3 the teacher must meet any credential requirement for the license area and complete either 18 semester hours plus DPI CTE New Teacher Induction, or the two-year NC CTE New Teacher Institute (Confirmed).

Industry-experience route. Trade and industrial areas require 2 years of related work experience with a bachelor’s degree, 4 years with an associate degree, or 6 years with a high school diploma or GED (Confirmed). The 2024 manual set recency windows of 5, 8 and 10 years for 74026; the 2025 manual states none (Confirm with the agency). License 765 Information Technology Education has no diploma route: bachelor’s plus 2 years or associate plus 4 (Confirmed).

No provisional status. Seven areas cannot be issued provisionally for safety reasons: 761 Aviation, 720 Health Science-RN, 74010 Collision Repair, 74015 Automotive Service, 74026 Construction, 74080 Welding and 74090 Manufacturing (Confirmed). For these, the hire must meet the experience and pre-teaching credential gates on day one; only the pedagogy coursework can follow.

Pathway-specific add-ons.

• Nurse aide (720 plus DHSR). An unrestricted RN license and 2 years of clinical nursing for 720. DHSR form HCPEC-8 adds an unencumbered NC RN license, at least 2 years (4,000 hours) of U.S. RN experience, and a teaching-adults course, adult teaching experience or experience supervising nurse aides; the program coordinator also needs 1 year (2,000 hours) of long-term care (Confirmed).
• Construction, electrical and HVAC (74026). OSHA 10-Hour Construction before classroom instruction and NCCER Instructor Certification Training Program (ICTP) (Confirmed). ICTP was listed at $385 through a DPI-partnered master trainer or $199 through NCCER (Changing: recheck before use). The license code for IC41-IC43 Electrical Trades is expected to be 74026 (Confirm with the agency).
• Welding (74080). Pass AWS SMAW, FCAW-G and GMAW-S tests, or hold CWE, CWI or SCWI, before the initial license expires (Confirmed).
• Information technology (765). For a continuing license: Praxis 5652, or CCNA, Network+, Security+ or PCAP (Confirmed).
• EMT. OEMS requires a Level I EMS Instructor as lead instructor and a Level II coordinator at the EMS Educational Institution (Confirmed). Level I requirements under 10A NCAC 13P .0507 and the DPI license area for IP21/IP22: Confirm with the agency.
• Public safety (74099). One of several credentials before teaching (for example OEMS EMT Instructor, NCOSFM Qualified Fire Instructor, IFPO, CERT or law enforcement certification); provisional licensure allowed (Confirmed).
• Automotive (74015). ASE A4, A5, A6 and G1 (or Master A1-A8) within 6 months of hire; no provisional license (Confirmed).

Alternatives.

• Adjunct CTE instructors. G.S. 115C-157.1 lets local boards contract with adjuncts who meet State Board criteria and hold no teaching license, for up to 20 hours a week or five consecutive months, with a criminal history check and preservice training (Confirmed). The 2020 report to the General Assembly lists criteria such as 6 years of experience in the last 10 plus NCCER ICTP and OSHA-10 for trade and industrial areas (Confirm with the agency that these criteria are current). A nurse aide adjunct must also meet DHSR’s RN faculty rule.
• Community college faculty through CCP. College faculty teach the course under the college’s approvals, for example CCP Nurse Aide I at Cape Fear CC (Confirmed).
• Salary credit for industry experience. A district example (Cabarrus County) gives 1 year of credit for every 2 years of related work before a bachelor’s degree and 1 for 1 after, verified on Form NE. The rule, 16 NCAC 06C .0365, could not be loaded (Confirm with the agency).
• Pending legislation. House Bill 991 (2023 session) would fund a DPI study of CTE licensure and alternative pathways. It was in the House Education Committee in June 2024; no enactment was found (Changing).

Graduation credit and college eligibility in North Carolina

No CTE-for-core crosswalk. North Carolina has no statewide crosswalk that lets a CTE course replace an English, science or social studies credit (Confirm with the agency). Academic credit flows through three routes instead: CMS “math option” flags on selected CTE courses, Credit by Demonstrated Mastery (CDM), and CCP college courses (Confirm with the agency for CDM and CCP credit rules). Credit decisions inside these routes are local.

Math option credit. Each CMS course page shows whether the course carries a math option or computer science credit. IC41 Electrical Trades I counts as a paired math option credit; HN43 Nursing Fundamentals and BB40 Business Management I carry none (Confirmed). Check the flag for each course you plan to count. IC61 Drafting I Honors, IV22 Drafting II-Engineering Honors, IM41 and IM42 carry math option credit; PLTW CE10 and CE11 and TED CT10-CT12 meet the computer science requirement instead and cannot count as math (Confirmed).

Computer science graduation requirement. Session Law 2023-132 requires a passing grade in a computer science course for students who entered grade 9 in 2024-25 and later (G.S. 115C-12(9d)) (Confirmed). DPI publishes the list of qualifying courses each year. The 2026-27 list (Dec. 2025) includes AP Computer Science Principles (0A02), AP Cybersecurity (0A04), AP Computer Science A (2A02), CP10-CP11, CS10-CS31 and CI00-CI35 (Confirmed). The course fills one credit that is not English, math, science or social studies. Schools that had no qualifying course could file a waiver notice for their 2024-25 or 2025-26 entering class, so ask your district whether it did. A 2025 House bill (HB 415) would let computer science count as math; it has not passed the Senate (Confirm before relying on it).

Economics and Personal Finance. G.S. 115C-81.65(b) requires a full-credit Economics and Personal Finance course for students who entered 9th grade in 2020-21 or later. The course must focus solely on Economics and Personal Finance and sits within the social studies credits, so a CTE course cannot substitute (Confirmed). Whether a teacher with a Business and Marketing (CTE) license may teach it: Confirm with DPI.

Career Endorsement. Under State Board policy GRAD-007, the Career Endorsement requires Math I-III plus a fourth math aligned to the student’s plans (CTE applied math courses are acceptable), a CTE concentration in an approved pathway, an unweighted GPA of at least 2.6, at least one industry-recognized credential (a WorkKeys Career Readiness Certificate at Silver or above counts), and the reading benchmark on a national college admissions test (Confirmed by live check).

Career development plan. Every middle and high school student needs a career development plan under G.S. 115C-158.10, created before promotion from 8th grade and revised before promotion from 10th grade (Confirmed).

Effect on public university admission. UNC System minimum course requirements (Policy 700.1.1, last amended May 23, 2024) call for 4 units of English, 4 units of math including Algebra I, Algebra II (or integrated equivalents) and higher-level math beyond Algebra II, 3 units of science and 2 units of social studies including U.S. history (Confirmed by live check). A CTE math option course that satisfies the Career Endorsement or the local fourth-math rule may not meet UNC’s fourth-math requirement. For any student who may apply to a UNC campus, confirm that the fourth math is a UNC-acceptable course (Confirm with the UNC System Office). UNC’s GPA and test-score floor is changing for fall 2026 applicants with weighted GPAs from 2.50 to 2.79 (Changing: recheck before use). UNC lists computer science among the subjects for its 2 additional academic units; which CS courses qualify: Confirm with the UNC System Office.

Articulation and dual enrollment in North Carolina

Career and College Promise (CCP). CCP is the statewide dual enrollment program, run under NCCCS Curriculum Procedures Reference Manual Section 14 (summer 2025). Juniors and seniors qualify for a CTE pathway with an unweighted GPA of 2.8 or higher, demonstrated college readiness, or a principal and college recommendation. A CTE pathway leads to a certificate or diploma, and a student can continue toward an associate in applied science (AAS) while still in high school. You can enroll in one College Transfer pathway and one CTE pathway at the same time (Confirmed). AAS courses may not transfer to a UNC campus, so if you plan to attend a UNC school, take the College Transfer pathway or add it. Session Law 2025-56 opened Workforce Continuing Education pathways in listed technical areas to freshmen and sophomores with principal and college recommendation and Math I and reading benchmarks (Confirmed; which areas and start term: Confirm with your community college). A Workforce Continuing Education CCP pathway leads to state or industry credentials, with Nurse Aide named (Confirmed). Tuition is waived under G.S. 115D-20(4), except for self-supporting courses (Confirmed). Colleges set their own age floors, for example:

• Cape Fear CC CCP Nurse Aide I: juniors and seniors aged 17 or older (Confirmed).
• Carteret CC EMT (EMS 110 with BIO 168): 17 by the course end date (Confirmed).
• Sandhills CC Workforce Continuing Education NCCER Welding Level 1: 16 on the first day, 321 hours (2023-24 catalog; Confirm with the agency).
• Criminal Justice Technology certificate C55180H2, 18 semester hours (Confirmed).

CCP college courses count toward high school graduation requirements (Confirm with the agency for how each course is credited).

High School to Community College Articulation Agreement. A student earns articulated college credit with a final grade of B or higher in the course, a score of 93 or higher on the CTE post-assessment, and enrollment at the community college within two years of high school graduation (Confirmed, NC Perkins articulation page; whether the 2025 agreement keeps these conditions: Confirm with the agency). The State Board of Community Colleges approved the current course table on May 16, 2025, with technical edits through March 9, 2026. Each college may accept or alter equivalencies (Confirmed).

The table has no HVACR row and no Law and Justice row; college credit for those runs through CCP or local agreements (Confirmed). Wave 2 entries on the 2025 agreement include FE11 to EDU-119 and FE12 to EDU-151; FH10 through FH13 to CUL-140 or CUL-142; FN41, FN42 or FH courses to CUL-110 and CUL-110A; and eight agriculture course pairs, including AA41 Veterinary Assisting to VET-114 (Confirmed). HS-to-CC articulated credit is community college credit; whether it transfers to a UNC campus depends on the Comprehensive Articulation Agreement and the receiving campus (Confirm with the agency).

Other routes. Cooperative Innovative High Schools (early and middle colleges) offer an associate degree route (Confirm with the agency). No North Carolina statewide agreement with a published expiration date was found.

Open questions for North Carolina agencies

1. NC DPI Licensure: Is a 2026 CTE Licensure Policies and Procedures Manual in effect, and did the 2025 manual drop the 5, 8 and 10 year recency windows for 74026?
2. NC DPI CTE (CMS): Which license code teaches IC41-IC43 Electrical Trades (expected 74026), and which teaches IP21/IP22 Emergency Medical Technology?
3. NC DPI Health Science consultant: Which minimum age should schools use for Nurse Aide I enrollment, DHSR’s 16.5 recommendation or the HN43 page’s 16 on the first day?
4. DHSR Center for Aide Regulation and Education: Is there a typical approved hour total for high school Nurse Aide I programs; what are the review time, fees and approval period; is the 2019 (Version 2.0, 2024) state curriculum mandatory; and what does the Clinical Site Approval Request Form require?
5. NC OEMS education staff: How does a high school offering IP21/IP22 meet the EMS Educational Institution requirement (its own credential or a community college partnership), what credential does IP22 actually lead to, and what are the Level I EMS Instructor requirements under 10A NCAC 13P .0507?
6. NC DPI CTE: What is the full 2026-27 Carpentry (CARP) course sequence after IC21, and what are the IT cluster names under the 2026-27 framework?
7. NC DPI CTE: Does a school need its own NCCER ATEF registration under DPI’s statewide sponsorship, and what is the current fee?
8. NCCCS and NC DPI: Does the 2025 HS-to-CC Articulation Agreement keep the B, 93 and two-year conditions?
9. NCCCS: Under Session Law 2025-56 and memo CC25-073, which CCP program areas are open to freshmen and sophomores, do curriculum and Workforce Continuing Education pathways share the same list, and from which term?
10. NC DPI CTE: Where is the current CTE Equipment Guide, and what is the 2027-28 local application window for new courses?
11. NCDOL Wage and Hour Bureau: What is the current Supervised Practice agreement form, is a separate agreement needed when the student is already an FLSA student-learner, do the .0406 bars reach farm work, and do they cover confined spaces and respirator work?
12. NC Industrial Commission or district risk pool: Who covers workers’ compensation for unpaid work-based learning students?
13. UNC System Office: Does a CTE math option course satisfy the fourth-math minimum course requirement, and which CS courses count toward the additional academic units?
14. NC DPI Licensure and Social Studies: May a teacher with a Business and Marketing (CTE) license teach Economics and Personal Finance?
15. NC Board of Cosmetic Art Examiners and NC DPI CTE: Is there a minimum student age in 21 NCAC 14, is there a DPI cosmetology course code, and what is the status of SB 808 (in House Rules as of June 30, 2026)?
16. NC State Board of Dental Examiners: Has the Board approved any high school dental assisting course under G.S. 90-29(c)(10), and what does approval require?
17. DCDEE Workforce Education Unit: Does the high school NC Early Childhood Credential equivalency have a time limit, what are the current Lead Teacher and Teacher requirements, and does a CTE lab preschool need a full license?
18. NCOSFM and NCCCS: May 16- and 17-year-olds in school Firefighter Technology courses do live fire training, and which community college CCP pathway does FIFI map to?
19. NC DPI CTE and Licensure: Which license areas teach Metals Manufacturing, Integrated Production Technologies, PLTW (CE) courses and ME11, ME12 and WE11 (730 or 760); what credentials align to IM43, TR11-TR14 and the CE courses; and what WE11 rules in the WBL Resource Manual cover supervision and student-owned businesses?
20. NC DHHS and county environmental health: How does the Food Code apply to CTE kitchens and student-run restaurants, and is a CFPM required of the culinary instructor?
21. NC Sheriffs’ Standards Division: May a student under 18 who is not employed by an agency enroll in the 47-hour telecommunicator course?

Review status and sources

Last checked October 2-3, 2026. Wave 1 facts come from the verified North Carolina and federal ledgers (October 2, 2026) and the toolkit research of the same date, with live checks on October 3, 2026 of the career development plan statute, the 2025 CTE Licensure Manual, the articulation conditions, UNC minimum admission requirements, the Career Endorsement, HB 991 and SB 808. Wave 2 rows were verified in a second research round on October 3, 2026; open items are listed above. The July 2026 policy module was used only where no newer source applied.

CTE governance, approval and funding

• NC DPI CTE Fiscal and Policy Guide (Jan. 2025)
• NC compliance supplement DPI-6 (April 2026)
• NC DPI CTE Course Inventory 2026-2027
• NCCTE Course Management System and credential list
• NC DPI CTE Credentials and Reporting
• Public Schools of NC Facilities Guidelines
• G.S. 115C-158.10, career development plan
• DOL release on Perkins administration (Sept. 8, 2025)

Teacher licensure and staffing

• NC DPI CTE Licensure Policies and Procedures Manual (2025) and 2024 manual
• G.S. 115C-157.1, adjunct CTE instructors
• Report to the NC General Assembly: Adjunct CTE Instructors (2020)
• Carolina Journal on HB 991 (June 13, 2024) (secondary)

Health care pathways

• DHSR Nurse Aide I curriculum introduction, Education Requirements, Student Age
• DHSR faculty requirements HCPEC-8 and program application HCPR-4510
• NCCTE CMS, HN43
• NC OEMS Education Program Manual (June 2024) and 10A NCAC 13P .0502

Trades and licensing

• NCCTE CMS, IC41 Electrical Trades I, Welding pathway, HVACR pathway
• NCBEEC rules, Section .0200
• G.S. 87-21 and G.S. 87-1

Minors and work-based learning

• 13 NCAC 12 .0406
• NCDOL, Minors in Work-based Learning Programs (rev. 4/13/2022)
• NCCCS Youth Apprenticeships
• DOL Field Assistance Bulletin 2011-3 and 29 CFR 570 Subpart E

Graduation, articulation and dual enrollment

• NCCCS CCP, Section 14 (summer 2025)
• NC Perkins, HS to CC Articulation Agreement and NCCCS course articulation table
• 2025 articulation item with March 2026 edits
• NC DPI 2026-27 CS graduation course list
• NC DPI High School Diploma Endorsements
• UNC Policy 700.1.1, minimum eligibility requirements
• Session Law 2023-132 (HB 8), computer science graduation requirement and HB 415 (2025) bill status (last checked Oct. 3, 2026)
• Session Law 2025-56 and NCCCS memo CC25-073 (Aug. 21, 2025) (last checked Oct. 3, 2026)

Wave 2

• G.S. Chapter 88B, cosmetic art and SB 808 status (UNC School of Government)
• G.S. 110-91, child care standards
• NCOSFM Fire Fighter certification
• 21 NCAC 16H .0203
• NCCTE CMS, Entrepreneurship pathway