Career and Technical Education Month kicked off at UFT headquarters in Manhattan on Feb. 1 with CTE at the CORE: Helping Students Map Their Futures, a conference co-sponsored by the UFT. The program included professional development workshops, industry breakout sessions, CTE business partner recognition and a keynote address by Chauncy Lennon, the managing director of global philanthropy for JPMorgan Chase, a CTE business partner. JPMorgan recently announced a $75 million global initiative to help transform career-focused education programs like CTE. The conference was moderated by Sterling Roberson, the UFT vice president for CTE high schools. “There is no denying anymore that CTE should and will be a vital part of education, not just in New York City but across this country,” UFT President Michael Mulgrew said. Also welcoming the participants were Chancellor Carmen Fariña, State Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia and American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten. Fariña explained that family tradesmen gave her a unique wedding gift — they helped restore the old house she bought with her accountant husband. “My husband learned … to work with his hands and understand the pride you get when you build something from scratch. To this day this is something I think all our students should be exposed to.’’ Other sponsors of the event were the AFT, the Department of Education, the CTE Council, the Technical Assistance Center of New York, the National Academy Foundation and the Association of CTE.