What do Nobu 57, the MTA and the DOE have in common? They provided internships in the city’s latest push for career education

Hundreds of New York City high school students are wrapping up internships in construction, hospitality, and business, the city announced on Thursday.

The 600 city-funded internships kicked off a new initiative called the Career and Technical Education Industry Scholars Program, which is part of New York City’s push to expand career education. Top city and state education officials are all backing a push for more CTE — but also acknowledge they’ve had trouble starting new programs.

Programs like this, which also included jobs in transportation, media and culinary arts, are one way the city is trying to fill in the gaps.

“We’re preparing students for their future beyond high school, and giving them an opportunity to practice and hone the valuable skills they’ve learned in the classroom,” Chancellor Carmen Fariña said in a statement.

City and state officials have been ratcheting up their support for CTE in recent weeks. In an uncharacteristic joint public appearance last month, the top three city and state education policymakers all visited a school in Queens to back career education and talk through obstacles to its expansion.

Recent data have shown that even students who do have access to CTE in school often miss out on opportunities to work in their field before graduation.

Despite New York City’s role as a business and tech hub, fewer than 1,600 city students completed internships in 2014, according to a report prepared for the Partnership for New York City. A 2016 Manhattan Institute report found that less than 2 percent of all New York City CTE students and less than 5 percent of high school seniors completed one.

At their meeting in Queens, top city and state officials noted that the process for winning state approval for a CTE program — a comprehensive review that allows schools to implement a multi-year curriculum — can be frustratingly lengthy, and doesn’t allow schools to keep pace as industries shift.

State officials have also increased the importance of CTE in recent years by allowing students to earn a diploma by substituting a career-focused track for one of the Regents exams typically required to graduate.

They have also suggested they are interested in providing more graduation options for students that require work experience. Still, it remains unclear whether enough schools offer the necessary courses to make this a real option for many students.