C. Allen Powell and Jon H. Poteat founded the nonprofit National Vocational-Technical Honor Society at H. B. Swofford Area Vocational Center (now H. B. Swofford Career Center) in Inman, South Carolina in 1984.

[1] That year, the society expanded to all of the vocational schools in Spartenburg County.

[2] In 1997, NTHS began its first scholarship fund, named in honor of co-founder Poteat.

[1] In 2003, the NTHS board of directors unanimously agreed to change the name of the organization to the National Technical Honor Society.

[1] NTHS partners with seven career and technical student organizations (CTSOs) to offer scholarships to CTSO members:[4][5] As of July 2024[update], NTHS serves over 5,200 member schools, both secondary and post-secondary, and has chapters in all fifty states, with chapters expanding into the Bahamas, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and Guam.