Examining Latinos Involvement in the Workforce and Postsecondary Technical Education in the United States

In this article, the authors report the results of two studies examining the participation rates of Latino students in postsecondary technical education (CTE) programs in community colleges and two-year proprietary institutions in the United States in 1994 and 2000. It is believed that the quality of the future U.S. Labor market will depend, to a great extent, on this group’s education and job skills. Although Latinos are the fastest growing minority group in the United States, they are also the poorest and most undereducated when compared to other minority groups. Results of both studies show that few Latino students enroll in and graduate from postsecondary CTE programs. Of those students that do enroll in and complete CTE programs at the postsecondary level, very few complete programs that are considered high-skill, high-wage.