The benefits of offering high school students career and technical education (CTE) in addition to training in basic academic skills and the cost-effectiveness of CTE were examined by reviewing available data on demand, supply, and results for CTE. The analysis confirmed that the market and demand for workers with only a high school education still remains sizable. According to employers who mostly hire workers with only a high school education, job-specific skills are the most difficult types of skills to find in high school graduates. Only about 18% of high school graduates complete a CTE program. A 2002 study of the net impacts of secondary CTE that was conducted by the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research documented that secondary-level CTE is associated with strong positive impacts on post high school employment and earnings. Specifically, CTE's impacts on selected employment indicators in the third year after individuals left secondary school were as follows: employment rate, +5.7%; hourly wage, +$.0.50; hours worked, +27.1; and annualized earnings, +$1,804.00. According to the Upjohn study, secondary-level CTE costs approximately $870 per student and yields an average net increase in earnings and employer-provided benefits of $3,469 during the first 2.5 years after high school and an estimated net increase of $71,236 during CTE participants' working lives. (MN)