OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma CareerTech plans to ask state lawmakers for an additional $68 million in its budget to expand workforce training, technology centers and career exploration programs.

The CareerTech board last week unanimously approved a more than $244 million request for the 2027 budget year, up from the agency’s current $175.5 million appropriation.

CareerTech provides training and skills education.  

Director Brent Haken said the request is “bold and aggressive.”  

It includes $31.6 million for increased investments in workforce training in hopes of increasing program enrollments by 10,000 students over the next five years.  

Haken said the agency has requested the same amount for workforce training multiple times in past years, and CareerTech was appropriated $10 million of its $41.6 million ask for the current budget year. This year’s request is the remaining amount in an effort to stay “consistent.”

The board also wants a $20 million appropriation to expand career exploration services at technology centers, which includes reaching out to younger students to inform them of what programs CareerTech offers.

Haken said he plans to use $3 million of this to provide an apprenticeship coordinator at every technology center in the state.  

The agency will make a one-time request of $10 million to expand technology centers to areas of the state not being served. This funding is used as a one time incentive for schools to jump-start their CareerTech programming ahead of funding through voter-approved ad valorem tax dollars being available.  

“It jump-started that service, where they have four programs already in before they were getting tax dollars for that,” Haken said.

“So it showed your people, your patriots, that voted on that, ‘We’re gonna do what we said we were gonna do.’

“And so you don’t have to wait. Your kid’s a senior or junior, they still have an opportunity.”

Another $5.5 million would develop new K-12 programs.

A previous appropriation was successful in creating more than 200 programs across the state, Haken said, and the agency wants to continue that work.  

Haken will present the budget request to state House and Senate members and Gov. Kevin Stitt at a later date.