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Poll results

In June, Massachusetts made it easier for students with lower grades to gain admission to vocational-technical high schools, which tend to have long wait lists and competitive admissions. Traditionally, voke-tech schools were for students who wished to enter the workforce immediately after graduating into professions like auto technician and hair stylist, but the schools have now become places for college-aspiring students to get specific training in areas like engineering, in order to strengthen their college applications. The changes come as the state economy faces labor shortages, particularly in skilled trades not requiring a college degree.

Should Massachusetts vocational-technical high schools be focused more on students who wish to graduate straight into the workforce?
Yes (88%, 166 VOTES)
No (12%, 22 VOTES)
Poll Description

In June, Massachusetts made it easier for students with lower grades to gain admission to vocational-technical high schools, which tend to have long wait lists and competitive admissions. Traditionally, voke-tech schools were for students who wished to enter the workforce immediately after graduating into professions like auto technician and hair stylist, but the schools have now become places for college-aspiring students to get specific training in areas like engineering, in order to strengthen their college applications. The changes come as the state economy faces labor shortages, particularly in skilled trades not requiring a college degree.

  • 188 Votes
  • 6 Comments
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6 Comments

  • July 27, 2021

    I have been involved in the trades for many years both in manufacturing and residential construction. Without a solid general education, I could not have succeeded, nor could anyone master a skill, especially if it requires a exam for a license

  • July 27, 2021
    Of course we should. More importantly, though, we need to fix the supervision ratios that are mathematically killing the licensed trades and blocking newly graduating students from getting a job in the trade they just trained for. We cant possibly grow our employment ranks in the licensed trades the way we are currently operating. As an employer, we’re capped at the number of apprentices we can hire in the several licensed trade areas that we employ people in. Currently, there are more people retiring out of the trades than successfully achieving licensure. As people retire from the trade, theoretically, an apprentice loses their required supervision and potentially their job. The division of apprentice training is really a shadow hurdle to create a level playing field for union and non union contractors performing public work. The Division of Profesional Licensure (DPL) is broken and deliberately underfunded. Applications for licenses and testing are vague and seemingly discretionary at the calculation of apprentice hours. Apprentices complain of the difficulty in getting answers. My personal experience is that no one answers the phones, returns messages or responds to emails… I would drive into Boston to the DPL (pre COVID) rather than waste my time on futile communication efforts. The current time requirements and additional education is archaic and not suited to the modern learning/teaching capacities, styles, methods or available technologies. Four and five year apprenticeships are hard to justify to today's newly graduated student. It’s a financial burden for the company to carry an apprentice that’s paired with a licensed tradesman for five years. The apprentices are generally limited in their earning potential until they are licensed and are a proven performer (knowledge, skill, attendance, etc…) and licensed. Vocational school is the beginning of a 5-7 year process to gaining licensure and economic vitality for a young person and an investment on the companies part with no certainty of a return on the investment. We can and must do better. We are holding back the potential of expanded economic growth by restraining the earning potential of these young people.
  • Thomas O'Malley
    July 27, 2021

    Our universal focus and idea, that in order to be successful in life, is to attend college, is an absolute lie. This is so wrong on so many levels, as many kids that are not quite cut out for college and attend simply because the feel the pressures to do so. This needs to change. Guidance should be EQUALLY focused on the need for tradesmen/women and the rewarding careers they provide, before we all start fighting over the same $900/hr plumber.

  • July 27, 2021
    It's my understanding that the technical schools in Massachusetts are rated by the same standards as public schools, with the major criteria being the percentage of students advancing to college. If this is true, then it contradicts the purpose of vocational schools and must be changed.
  • July 27, 2021

    The intent of vocational-technical schools was to allow those who wanted to learn a trade to get that specific education and go right onto work. These schools should be focusing on the trades as opposed to getting students into college.