FRANKFORT, KY - Governor Steve Beshear has signed an executive order that will couple the state's career and technical schools under the Department of Education.
 
The goal is to create a unified and efficient system to better prepare students for blue collar careers.
 
Beshear said in a statement Tuesday that it's the state's responsibility to prepare students for both college and the workplace. He said he wants career and technical education to be "a first choice, not a last chance."
 
The executive order is part of a larger effort to prepare Kentucky students for a wider range of career options.
 
Seventy-five percent of Kentucky high school students, more than 150,000 pupils, were enrolled in career and technical education programs last year.