🔒Accessing a vocation: As vocational-technical schools rise in popularity, limited space raises concerns over who gets to attend

No longer typecast as a back-up plan to traditional high schools, vocational-technical high schools in Massachusetts have boomed in popularity. They can provide youth with an education to see them either immediately ready to join the workforce in high-demand fields, or with skills relating to cutting-edge technology, which give them a leg up while applying to college. Business ranging from farms, to automotive shops, to musical instrument manufacturers in Central Massachusetts partner with the eight voc-tech schools in the region. Realizing the value of voc-tech training, traditional high schools like Worcester North, Worcester South, and Doherty High offer hands-on training in skilled trades and technical fields, too. For Shrewsbury-based Advantage Truck Group, participating in career technical education programs is not just a way to help build up the next generations of workers, it’s a way to meet current needs, said Chris Pentedemos, ATG vice president of network operations. “Each group of kids has a dedicated mentor that works with these students as they come through,” Pentedemos said. “They're building a relationship and working at a constant pace day in and day out. That allows that technician to potentially work on two different jobs at once, because as the co-op gets more experienced, we can have them doing the hands-on work.” Between 2005 and 2020, Mass. voc-tech enrollment rose 24%, according to the Boston-based Pioneer Institute.

The rising popularity of voc-tech schools in Central Massachusetts and beyond have created a new problem: More students want to pursue a voc-tech education than available seats, with the Massachusetts Association of Vocational Administrators estimating up to 11,000 students are waiting for a spot. For those who are able to grab a seat at the voc-tech table, the schools learned can provide lifetime value, even if students don’t end up spending the rest of their working lives in the field they studied, said Heather Courtney, co-operative education/ employment coordinator for Worcester Technical High School. “The skillset that you've gained there is going to help you the rest of your life. A lot of the experiences that students have are interacting and working with others, making decisions, problem solving,” Courtney said. “The skillset that students get at the vocational school, it's building them to be successful.”

Figuring out a future

ATG, a truck dealership and service company with eight locations in New England, has helped educate students from Central Massachusetts voc-tech programs, including Bay Path Regional Vocational Technical High School in Charlton and Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School in Upton. The hands-on experience helps students figure out if the industry is for them, Pentedemos said. “You never really know what you want until you get into that field and see what it's about,” he said. “At the end of the day, if I can show them that this is not the field that they want to be in, that's an equal win for me.” Pentedemos feels a voc-tech education prepares employees for the continuous training and education needed for both workers and companies to stay on top of technological developments.

“Having these kids come in, we'd like to think that we're going to pick up a couple of them and continue to fill out our roster over the years as we go,” he said. “But that's not where it ends, because in today's day and age, you have to be staying trained and front of technology. The education portion of it just continues on all the way through.” Worcester Tech partnered with Randolph-based NEI General Contracting, which performed construction work at The Cove luxury apartment in the Canal District and other nearby projects. “We have advisory boards where employers can come and partner with us to drive the conversation about what's happening,” Courtney said. “We always welcome people to come in and speak to our students directly and have kids go on field trips to different sites.”

The partnership with NEI has the company place students in co-op positions, with additional students partnering with subcontractors, in an effort to bring more young people into the construction trades, teaching technical skills, project management, and budgeting, as the state faces both housing and construction worker shortages. “We have an issue with the future of the workforce, but we can’t continue to do the same things that haven't been working to address that issue.” said André Barbour, diversity and inclusion director at NEI. “We just want to provide an opportunity that helps a young adult make an informed decision on what they want to do with their future.”

Growing pains

Growth in admissions and voc-tech’s importance to both education and industry has lawmakers playing catch-up to this new age of voc-tech education, said Timothy Murray, president and CEO of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce. “There are some policy makers that have an outdated perspective on voc-tech. In the past, maybe it was seen as a place for students who weren't academically up to speed in the traditional sense,” Murray said. “Some of the arguments that I heard are that those kids who used to go to voc-tech school now can't get in. These are really popular programs, and the economy has changed.” With the crunch for more seats, the state is moving forward with controversial rule changes to mandate voc-tech schools implement a lottery system to determine who gets in when seats are limited, replacing systems at some schools where interviews, attendance records, and report cards are the determining factor. The lottery is set to go into effect with the 2026-2027 school year, after years of debate over how best to handle voc-tech admissions. Schools can choose between an unweighted lottery or a weighted lottery, which considers a student’s shown interest, like attending open houses. The Gov. Maura Healey Administration has said the lottery will make the competition for limited seats more equitable. A 2020 Boston Globe review of state data found racial inequities in voc-tech admissions. “Career technical education is in demand in many districts, and while our administration works to expand the number of seats available, it is also important to ensure that students of all backgrounds can access those seats,” Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll said in a February press release. “This proposal seeks to improve the admissions process, which will have positive impacts.”

Murray has advocated against the lottery, arguing leaving admissions to chance isn’t fair. “A lottery system sends the wrong message to students who, in seventh and eighth grade, work hard academically, who follow the rules, who behave, and who show up for school,” he said. Worcester Tech began using a tiered lottery during the 2022-23 school year, according to the Worcester Telegram, with criteria more lenient than the upcoming state requirements. “The state makes their decisions, and we just follow the rules and regulations,” Courtney said. “We are willing to educate whatever student is interested in attending Worcester Tech.” Beyond the lottery debate, all sides agree more seats are needed to meet demand and ensure a steady stream of workers into critical fields like health care, plumbing, and manufacturing. Healey announced on Sep. 3 the opening of applications for voc-tech schools to receive $60 million to buy equipment for training and to add 2,000 voc-tech seats across the state. Murray would like to see the state use revenue from the millionaire tax to bring universal voc-tech closer to reality. “There is a unique opportunity with the millionaires tax to make a real effort to eliminate this waiting list within three to five years, so every student that wants access can get it,” he said. Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the manufacturing and real estate industries.