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Remember when everyone would tell you once you had a degree, you’d be set for life? Turns out, they meant you’d be set for a lifetime of disappointment instead. Back in 2009, over 70% of recent high school grads attended college. Today, enrollment is down over 15% from its peak, with more students opting for trade jobs over office gigs. Not even cringey TikToks from the Big Four accounting firms can convince them otherwise…Career detour: In a recent survey, over half of Americans said they believe a college degree isn’t worth it. Many young people are taking their high school...

Expanding apprenticeship and vocational education are a priority of the Trump administration, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos said Tuesday in a meeting of the Department of Labor's specially chartered Task Force on Apprenticeship Expansion."Apprenticeship expansion is a priority for President Trump, as he demonstrated by establishing the task force last summer," DeVos said. "In the State of the Union address, he called on everyone, not just the Department of Education, or Labor, or Congress, or Washington, everyone to invest in workforce development, and job training, and great vocational schools so our students and future workers can learn a craft and...

Paul Beston joins Steven Malanga to talk about the history of the American high school and making high-quality career training central in today’s high schools. This 10 Blocks episode is the second based on City Journal’s special issue, The Shape of Work to Come. In 1910, less than 20 percent of America’s 15-to-18-year-olds were enrolled in high school. By 1940, that figure had reached nearly 75 percent. The phenomenon became known as the American high school movement, and the impetus for it came from local communities, not from federal, or even state, government. Today, however, high school diplomas poorly prepare...

Many of the electricians, carpenters and masons working to renovate the Iskandariyah Vocational Technical School in Babil Province south of Baghdad are graduates of that facility and know first hand the value of the job-training skills being taught there. USACE photo by Alicia Embrey. ISKANDARIYAH — Iraqi workers, who are helping expand the job-training opportunities at a votech school in Babil Province, have a personal interest in ensuring the renovation is done right. “Many of the carpenters, electricians and masons on that construction crew attended classes at Iskandariyah VocationalTechnical School and know the value of its curriculum,” said Iraqi engineer...

CAMP STRIKER, Iraq, March 5, 2008 – More than a dozen Mahmudiyah community representatives toured the Iskandariyah Vocational School on March 2 to see how their townspeople may benefit from it. Nassir Abbas, director of the Iskandariyah Vocational School, speaks to Mahmudiyah Qada Education Director General Dr. Kais, Mahmudiyah Council Chairman Najim Mahdi al-Dulaymi and Sheik Somar Abdul Amir al-Anbari in a women’s sewing class during a tour of the school, March 2, 2008. Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Kerensa Hardy, USA  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The Mahmudiyah council chairman and education director general, an area representative,...

Too many Americans are going to college. The topic yesterday was education and children in the lower half of the intelligence distribution. Today I turn to the upper half, people with IQs of 100 or higher. Today's simple truth is that far too many of them are going to four-year colleges. Begin with those barely into the top half, those with average intelligence. To have an IQ of 100 means that a tough high-school course pushes you about as far as your academic talents will take you. If you are average in math ability, you may struggle with algebra and...

Six years ago, as his 11th-grade classmates struggled with the college-application ritual, Toby Hughes tried to envision his future. A Georgia honors student with a 1350 SAT score, he knew he wanted to go into computer science, so he went to local computer companies and asked what they wanted in an employee. "They told me I would be more marketable if I had practical technical training as opposed to theoretical academic training," says Mr. Hughes. He began taking specialized computer-networking classes while still in high school, landed a $52,000 job after graduating, and now, at 24, makes well past that.

New Vocational School and Textile Mill Boost Economy School offers training in masonry, carpentry and auto repair. By U.S. Army Sgt. Waine D. Haley 133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment TIKRIT, Iraq, July 18, 2006 -- The seeds of trade and industry are taking root and springing to life as Coalition Forces and Iraqi leaders dig in and try to bring new life to Iraq’s economy. Capt. Daniel Cederman, projects officer for the 402nd Civil Affairs Detachment, and Kadhin Nori Abid, Ph.D., expert in vocational education representing the government of Salah Ah Din province, are working together to build a...