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Vocational education in the United States varies from state to state. Vocational schools or tech schools are post-secondary schools (students usually enroll after graduating from high school or obtaining their GEDs) that teach the skills necessary to help students acquire jobs in specific industries. The majority of postsecondary career education is provided by proprietary (privately-owned) career institutions. About 30 percent of all credentials in teaching are provided by two-year community colleges, which also offer courses transferable to four-year universities. Other programs are offered through military teaching or government-operated adult education centers. [1]
Historically, vocational education was considered less financially lucrative in the long term than a bachelor's degree. There are several trade school jobs that earn a respectable income at much less cost in time and money for training. [2] Even ten years after graduation, there are many people with a certificate or associate degree who earn more money than those with a degree. [3] [4] [5]
Historically, high schools have offered vocational courses such as home economics, wood and metal shop, typing, business courses, drafting, construction, and auto repair. However, for a number of reasons, many schools have cut those programs. Some schools no longer have the funding to support these programs, and schools have since put more emphasis on academics for all students because of standards based education reform. School-to-Work is a series of federal and state initiatives to link academics to work, sometimes including gaining work experience on a job site without pay. [6]
In 2023, enrollment in "vocational-focused community colleges rose 16%" compared to 2022. [7]
The biggest difference between vocational education and traditional education is the amount of time students need to complete their education. Most vocational institutions offer programs that students can complete in about one year and a half to two years. Students attending traditional colleges often take four to complete their education. Traditional institutions also require students to complete a liberal arts education. Students must enroll in a broad range of courses that are not necessarily related to their area of study. Vocational institutions require students to enroll only in classes that pertain to their particular trades. [8]
Federal involvement is carried out principally through the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act. Accountability requirements tied to the receipt of federal funds under the act help to provide some overall leadership. The Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education in the US Department of Education also supervises activities funded by the act, along with grants to individual states and other local programs. [9] Persons wishing to teach vocational education may pursue a Bachelor of Vocational Education, which qualifies one to teach vocational education.
The Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) is the largest private association dedicated to the advancement of education that prepares youths and adults for careers. Its members include Career and Technical Education (CTE) teachers, administrators, and researchers.
In many states, vocational education is available to workers who have been previously laid off or whose previous employer is defunct. Such teaching was expanded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Though results have been, for the most part, inconclusive, job retraining programs have been noted to retain a positive effect on employee morale. Even in cases of displacement, those who underwent job retraining programs exhibited a more positive outlook on their circumstances than those employees who did not partake in job retraining programs. Several studies have also suggested that for layoffs, employees who remain with the company exhibit positive morale and are more motivated in their work environment if the layoffs are handled effectively by the company.
Job retraining programs in the United States are often criticized for their lack of proper focus on skills that are required in existing jobs. A 2009 study by the US Department of Labor showed that the difference in earnings and the chances of being rehired, between those who had been taught and those who had not, was small. [10]
In the early 20th century, a number of efforts were made to imitate German-style industrial education in the United States. [11] Researchers such as Holmes Beckwith described the relationship between the apprenticeship and continuation school models in Germany and suggested variants of the system that could be applied in an American context. [12] The industrial education system evolved, after large-scale growth after World War I, into modern vocational education. This CTE (Career Technical Education) Historical Timeline illustrates the steps in the evolution:
Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs provide opportunities for high school students to learn in-demand skills and provide a fast track to the work force. Unlike the former "vocational" programs, CTE programs can culminate in postsecondary degrees or certificates. [13] These programs can span from culinary arts and hospitality management to fire science, computer science, and nursing. However, all offerings include a one-year certificate or two-year degree and with a high-skilled hands-on learning experience. Some jurisdictions are introducing CTE alternatives to standard high schools as a means of addressing student engagement and drop-out issues. [14] CTE programs are shown to promote engagement for students who feel disconnected from traditional education models. [14]
A community college is a type of undergraduate higher education institution, generally leading to an associate degree, certificate, or diploma. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an open enrollment policy for students who have graduated from high school, also known as senior secondary school or upper secondary school. The term usually refers to a higher educational institution that provides workforce education and college transfer academic programs. Some institutions maintain athletic teams and dormitories similar to their university counterparts.
Vocational education is education that prepares people for a skilled craft. Vocational education can also be seen as that type of education given to an individual to prepare that individual to be gainfully employed or self employed with requisite skill. Vocational education is known by a variety of names, depending on the country concerned, including career and technical education, or acronyms such as TVET and TAFE. TVE refers to all forms and levels of education which provide knowledge and skills related to occupations in various sectors of economic and social life through formal, non-formal and informal learning methods in both school-based and work-based learning contexts. To achieve its aims and purposes, TVE focuses on the learning and mastery of specialized techniques and the scientific principles underlying those techniques, as well as general knowledge, skills and values.
A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution.
K–12, from kindergarten to 12th grade, is an English language expression that indicates the range of years of publicly supported primary and secondary education found in the United States and Canada, which is similar to publicly supported school grades before tertiary education in several other countries, such as Afghanistan, Australia, China, Ecuador, Egypt, India, Iran, the Philippines, South Korea, and Turkey. K–12 refers to the American system which affords authority to local intersectional "districts" which may be specific to a municipality, county, or several regions, depending on population and proximity.
A tradesperson or tradesman/woman is a skilled worker that specialises in a particular trade. Tradespeople (tradesmen/women) usually gain their skills through work experience, on-the-job training, an apprenticeship program or formal education.
A junior college is a type of post-secondary institution that offers vocational and academic training that is designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations or support roles in professions such as engineering, accountancy, business administration, nursing, medicine, architecture, and criminology. Often times, those types of colleges offer 2-year associate's degrees that are intended for students that want to later transfer to a 4-year bachelor's degree to finish their undergraduate education, pending adequate grades. Students typically attend those types of colleges for 1-3 years, which is also dependent on the country.
A vocational school, is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary or post-secondary education designed to provide vocational education or technical skills required to complete the tasks of a particular and specific job. In the case of secondary education, these schools differ from academic high schools which usually prepare students who aim to pursue tertiary education, rather than enter directly into the workforce. With regard to post-secondary education, vocational schools are traditionally distinguished from four-year colleges by their focus on job-specific training to students who are typically bound for one of the skilled trades, rather than providing academic training for students pursuing careers in a professional discipline. While many schools have largely adhered to this convention, the purely vocational focus of other trade schools began to shift in the 1990s "toward a broader preparation that develops the academic" as well as the technical skills of their students.
Retraining or refresher training is the process of learning a new or the same old skill or trade for the same group of personnel. Retraining is required to be provided on a regular basis to avoid personnel obsolescence due to technological changes and the individuals' memory capacity. This short-term instruction course shall serve to re-acquaint personnel with skills previously learnt or to bring their knowledge or skills up-to-date (latest) so that skills stay sharp. This kind of training could be provided annually or more frequently as maybe required, based on the importance of consistency of the task of which the skill is involved. Examples of refreshers are cGMP, GDP, HSE trainings. Retraining shall also be conducted for an employee, when the employee is rated as ‘not qualified’ for a skill or knowledge, as determined based on the assessment of answers in the training questionnaire of the employee.
Chelsea Career & Technical Education High School is a public Career and Technical Education (CTE) high school located at 131 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York, United States. It is a part of district 2 in the New York City Department of Education.
Bates Technical College is a public technical college in Tacoma, Washington. The college offers Associate of Applied Science degrees, academic certificates, and industry certifications. Bates is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.
Nursing in the United States is a professional health care occupation. It is the largest such occupation, employing millions of certified professionals. As of 2023, 3,175,390 registered nurses were employed, paid a median income of $86,070.
In Oklahoma, Tech Prep is an administered through the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education, located in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Tech Prep is funded through Section II of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006.
The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority serves as the Philippines' Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) authority. As a government agency, TESDA is tasked to both manage and supervise the Philippines' Technical Education and Skills Development Authority(TESDA). Its goals are to develop the Filipino workforce with "world-class competence and positive work values" and to provide quality technical-educational and skills development through its direction, policies, and programs.
The Smith–Hughes National Vocational Education Act of 1917 was an act of the United States Congress that promoted vocational education in "agriculture, trades and industry, and homemaking," and provided federal funds for this purpose. As such, it is the basis both for the promotion of vocational education, and for its isolation from the rest of the curriculum in most school settings. The act was based largely on a report and recommendation from Charles Allen Prosser's Report of the National Commission on Aid to Vocational Education. Woodlawn High School became the first public secondary school in the United States to offer agricultural education classes under the Smith–Hughes Act. Of all the vocational subjects mentioned, home economics is the only vocational subject that the act recognized for girls.
Career Pathways is a workforce development strategy used in the United States to support students' transition from education into the workforce. This strategy has been adopted at the federal, state and local levels in order to increase education, training and learning opportunities for America’s current and emerging workforce.
In the United States, community colleges are primarily two-year public institutions of tertiary education. Community colleges offer undergraduate education in the form of an associate degree. In addition community colleges also offer remedial education, GEDs, high school diplomas, technical diplomas and tech certificates, and occasionally at some colleges, a limited number of 4-year bachelor's degrees. After graduating from a community college, some students transfer to a four-year college or university to continue their studies leading to a bachelor's degree. Community college is tuition-free for selected students in 47 states, often under the name College Promise. Most community college instructors have advanced degrees but serve as part-time low wage employees.
Renton Technical College is a public community college in Renton, Washington. The college offers bachelor's degrees, associate degrees and certificates of completion in professional-technical fields.
Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School or Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School District is located on an 80-acre campus in Rochester, Massachusetts, United States, the geographical center of the five-member town school district that includes Acushnet, Carver, Mattapoisett, Rochester and students from Freetown & Lakeville Public Schools. Note that Lakeville is a member town while, Freetown is not and its students served are limited to around 90. Old Colony is fully accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, as well as the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
A high school diploma is a diploma awarded upon graduation of high school. A high school diploma is awarded after completion of courses of studies lasting four years, from grade 9 to grade 12. It is the school leaving qualification in the United States and Canada.
Apprenticeship programs in the United States are regulated by the Smith–Hughes Act (1917), The National Industrial Recovery Act (1933), and National Apprenticeship Act, also known as the "Fitzgerald Act."
Overall, wages are higher in occupations typically requiring a degree for entry than in occupations typically requiring less education. But that's not always the case.
This report examines the labor-market value of associate's degrees and certificate programs, finding that field of study especially influences future earnings for these programs since they are tightly linked with specific occupations.
A lot of other people also have invested time and money getting four-year degrees only to return for career and technical education in fields ranging from firefighting to automation to nursing, in which jobs are relatively plentiful and salaries and benefits comparatively good, but which require faster and far less costly certificates and associate degrees.