The recent push for more vocational training in high schools is a sign that Americans are recognizing what skills are valuable in the workforce. There has long been a negative stigma attached to vocational training, as it seemed geared for students who weren’t headed for college; in other words, it was made for “non-academic” students. However, the recent boom in community college enrollment shows that more students every year are recognizing the value of specialized training. In the past year, Indiana’s community college network, Ivy Tech, surpassed the state’s college network in enrollment, while in the deepest part of a long, state recession. The shift in focus is not a loss for the academic, just acknowledgment of value.
The skills taught in high school vocational settings are not as advanced as those in community colleges, vocational technology schools or apprenticeships, but they start students on an early path to a successful career. Courses in electrician skills, carpentry, and auto-mechanical skills have been the mainstays for decades. Recently, courses in Nursing, Computer Aided Design, materials processing and basic engineering skills have been added to curricula across the nation, showing that vocational training isn’t entirely non-academic. In fact, the physical and chemical knowledge required of many auto-mechanics and electricians today surpasses the theory taught in science class settings.
This push for vocational education is coming at a time of high unemployment and a seemingly stagnant economy. Students graduating with traditional, academic degrees are finding it exceedingly difficult to apply their knowledge to employment while a less educated competitor can show greater specialized skill in a similar field. A four year biology degree is great, but when an individual with two years of Nursing school and experience competes for the same medical lab job, experience and demonstrated skill take precedence.
As parents and educators look toward the future, the career landscape is changing before their eyes. Academic degrees seem to be precursors for graduate and doctoral programs more than a solid career. For this reason, many urban schools have partnered with community colleges and technical schools to provide alternative curricula for students who already know what kind of field they want to go into. Rather than wait until graduation at age 18 to pursue a license or degree in Nursing, Aviation Mechanics or Culinary Arts, students as young as 15 and 16 are given the opportunity to take some courses in their chosen profession.
This provides students with a tool more valuable than just the education and experience to get a career: it provides a certainty that is lacking among many higher education students. Many students graduate from college with little or no idea what to do with their newfound degrees. Students who set a course for themselves in high school have a path set, with clear objectives along the way. Parents and educators alike love this focus because it allows a student to truly appreciate his or her education, and every teacher knows that a motivated student is an “A” student.
Vocational training is not for non-academic students. Vocational training is for students whose academic goals are not the traditional liberal arts, “jack of all trades” programs available for so many years. Their goals are set, focused and ready to go. As parents, educators and employers, we should embrace and encourage that spirit.
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