Founders C. Allen Powell and Jon H. Poteat created NTHS to honor students at H.B. Swofford Career Center in South Carolina. Powell and Poteat believed that outstanding students were not being recognized properly because of the public's negative perception of technical and community colleges during the 1980s. Shortly after its inception, the H.B. Swofford Career Center's honor society received national attention from educators and business people and the National Vocational-Technical Honor Society was created. In 2003, the honor society was renamed the National Technical Honor Society.
Members are eligible for NTHS-exclusive scholarships, letters of recommendation provided by the honor society's national headquarters, a special graduation tassel and an official NTHS seal that is affixed to the student's diploma. In addition, students receive a certificate of membership, ID card and NTHS pin. Schools with an NTHS chapter are also eligible for benefits: Chapter leaders and educators can be inducted into the NTHS Hall of Fame, and membership helps schools to network with local businesses to provide employment opportunities for students after graduation.
NTHS offers three kinds of memberships: student, alumni and honorary. Student memberships are for high school and college students who are enrolled in college-level technical or vocational courses. Alumni memberships are available to NTHS students who have graduated. Part of the dues from alumni memberships go to a scholarship fund for NTHS members. Honorary memberships are awarded to community members for their support of career, technical or vocational education. Membership dues are required only once for student and honorary members; alumni members pay annual dues.
NTHS offers several scholarships for active members: the Jon H. Poteat Scholarship, the HOSA Scholarship, the SkillsUSA Scholarship, the DECA Scholarship, the FCCLA Scholarship, the FBLA-PBL Scholarship and the BPA Scholarship. NTHS annually awards 75 Jon H. Poteat Scholarships in the amount of $1,000. These are selected randomly for each school year. The other scholarships are awarded to NTHS members by each respective organization in the amount of $1,000. Most organizational scholarships are awarded to either two or four students each year.