The Vocational Route

In this section you will find information, tools and resources for pursuing a technical education for a career.

Vocational and Technical Training also take place through Union training programs, such as through the Carpenters or Electricians Union, and through official apprenticeship programs. New York State offers CTE programs, which are career and technical education programs to enter the skilled-work world:

CTE Programs: These are career and technical education programs, which provide academic and technical instruction in agriculture, business and marketing, family and consumer sciences, health sciences, trade and technical education, and technology education.

The ACTE: The Association for Career and Technical Education - a resource for seeing what kinds of technical training opportunities are available in your area. ACTE schools offer many courses of study which directly correlate with professional outcomes, ranging from STEM subjects, to law and public safety, finance, architecture and construction, transportation and logistics, manufacturing, marketing and more.

U.S. Department of Labor’s Job Corps:

Which “is the largest nationwide residential career training program in the country and has been operating for more than 50 years. The program helps eligible young people ages 16 through 24 complete their high school education, trains them for meaningful careers, and assists them with obtaining employment. Job Corps has trained and educated over two million individuals since 1964.

At Job Corps, students have access to room and board while they learn skills in specific training areas for up to three years. In addition to helping students complete their education, obtain career technical skills and gain employment, Job Corps also provides transitional support services, such as help finding employment, housing, child care, and transportation. Job Corps graduates either enter the workforce or an apprenticeship, go on to higher education, or join the military.”

Things to Keep in mind about the vocational and technical education route:

Trade jobs often entail shorter training periods, and lower education costs, training programs are often paid, at a rate which increases with skill development, and result in higher wages much earlier in one’s career than do many jobs through traditional degree pathways.

Likewise, by going through a structured training program through a union, such as the Carpenters Association, or through a New York State apprenticeship program, graduates of these programs are often ensured job placement at the end of their training and have access to work and clientele through their union or trade network.

For those interested in making a comfortable and reliable income without significant debt early in their career, trade schools are a viable option.

Some Historical Context:

There is a shortage of skilled laborers in America because people have been encouraged in excess to pursue the academic route for the past several generations, for various reasons. One of the historical reasons for this is the G.I. Bill. Following World War II, the G.I. Bill made it possible for otherwise working class citizens to venture into the world of academic education at minimal expense, which introduced millions of Americans to a new kind of life which was not broadly accessible before. This enabled millions to enter the white collar world, without student debt.

These new qualifications gave workers access to white collar jobs on an unprecedented scale, and coincided with growing wealth in American Society. This led Americans to believe that College and University degrees were the key to this new comfort and prosperity. This assumption has been passed on through recent generations, resulting in an enormous percentage of the population pursuing higher education, and a diminishing percentage pursuing either kinds of training.

We are living in the aftermath of this moment, and as a society are realizing that college is one route among many, and with so many pursuing such a singular idea of life, many of us find we are uncomfortable in the he norms and conventions to white collar life and work, that the level of competition for white collar jobs is untenable, and that there are far too few people with the technical skills we need to make our world run.

all of the above has resulted in…

There is a shortage of skilled laborers in America, because people are not pursuing vocational skills as much as they have in the past, this means that there is great opportunity in pursuing these skills, which will be in high demand and therefore should pay well.

◈ 70% of contractors say they have a hard time finding qualified workers ◈ The average pay for a trade worker is $23 an hour, well above minimum

wage, and most positions provide wage increases with experience.

◈ Many trade workers, such as plumbers, electricians and carpenters, can make well over $100,000 a year as their experience and wages increase over time.

◈ Boomtowns, those in which white collar industries have grown rapidly, such as Seattle, have a shortage of trade workers, therefore those with vocational and technical skills can make very high salaries fairly quickly if they come to these centers.

Middle Skills: This is a term which refers to level of education or training. If you are a middle skills professional then you have more than a high school degree and less than a bachelor’s degree, with some kind of training after High School. Those in the trades and vocations would be considered middle skill workers.

Infrastructure jobs: are those for tradesmen, construction workers, material moving and transportation workers, construction and extraction, office and administrative support, installation maintenance and repair, architectural and engineering, management, production, business and financial operation, farming, fishing and forestry.

In-Demand Trades: (There are many more than what is listed below)

*Business operations Associate: is responsible for the business operations of client based missiness, they are tasked with administration, data analysis and managing relationships within the business, and with clientele, in the most strategic way possible. Training in this field requires a minimum of 145 hours of instruction.

-Must be competent in: Organizational structures and procedures, Project plans and scheduling tools, Data analysis, interpretation, and communication, Market trends and insights, and interpersonal relationship

*Building Maintenance Mechanic:Certification in this field requires approximately 4,000 hours of instruction.
-Must be competent in the following technical skills: tools, rigging and material handling, cleaning and maintaining buildings, basic: electrical, carpentry, plumbing, painting/plastering, mechanical installation, and other miscellaneous forms of maintenance, and record keeping.

*Carpenter: Requires approximately 5,200-8,000 hours of instruction, depending on the particular form of carpentry.

-Must be competent in the following technical skills: tools and materials, form building, rough framing, layout, outside finishing, inside finishing, acoustics and drywall, welding and cutting, plastics and resilience, and miscellaneous other activities.
-Must be competent in the following intellectual skills: basic applied mathematics, blueprints, industrial and labor relations, and trade science and theory. (minimum 144 hours of instruction in these subjects each year of training)

-Varieties of specialized carpentry: Heavy/Highway Carpentry, pile driver/dock builder carpentry, residential carpenter, industrial carpentry, more.

*Certified Nursing Assistant:Must complete between 1,000 and 2,000 hours of instruction.
-Must be competent in the following skills: safety, communication, basic nursing skills,, personal care and daily living assistance, developmental health and social service needs of residents, care of cognitively impaired residents, basic restorative skills and services, understanding of residents rights, basic administration.

*Construction Manager: Must complete approximately 7,000 hours of instruction.

-Must be competent in the following skills: construction fundamentals, estimating and construction documents, superintendence, project management, blueprints, specifications, documents and programs, trade theory and science.

-Computer Support Technician: Must complete between 1,000 and 2,000 hours of instruction.

-Must be competent in the following skills: workplace basics, computer basics, cybersecurity fundamentals, networking fundamentals, additional computing topics.

*Cook: Must complete between approximately 4,000 hours of instruction.
-Must be competent in the following skills: maintain kitchen and equipment, preparation and presentation of egg dishes, fabrication, cooking, serving fruits, vegetable, starches, legumes, and grains, fabricating meats, poultry, fish and seafood, producing hot soups and sauces, producing and presenting sandwiches, salads, cold appetizers, entrees, and ready to eat products, preparing and presenting baked goods, food costing and basic culinary math.

*Chef Must complete approximately 6,000 hours of instruction.
-Must be competent in the following skills: maintaining kitchen and equipment, setting up, cooking and serving breakfast, fabricating, cooking, presenting and serving all food groups, preparing meats, poultry, and seafood, broiling, grilling, roasting, and garnishing, preparing and serving entree items, performing supervisory and management skills, communication, basic culinary math.

*Drafter: architectural, mechanical, structural, automotive product design Must Complete approximately 8,000 hours of instruction.

-Must be competent in the following skills: tools, equipment and work aids, blueprint reading,m drafting basics, making calculations, construction detailing, drafting simple architectural drawings, drafting commercial and public structures, manual and auto-CADD, drafting alterations, drafting detail work, writing specifications, quality assurance assessment, inspecting field sites, drawing architectural renderings.

*Electrician: Must complete approximately 8,000 hours of instruction.
-Must be competent in the following skills: project layout and planning, underground installations, thinwall conduit raceway systems, rigid conduit raceway systems, installing services, switchboards and panels, floor duct installation, motor control center installation, installing, spicing, and terminating wires and cables, cable tray installation, lighting system installation, testing and troubleshooting feeders, motors, and branch circuits, fire alarm and security system installation, motor installation, control system installation, installing and programming logic controllers, installing instrumentation and process control system,, sound and communication system, transformers, fiber optic and teledata cables, service and troubleshooting, material handling and pre-fabrication, safety awareness, green skills.

*Firefighter & EMT: Must complete between 1,000 and 2,000 hours of instruction.

-Must be competent in the following skills: safety, fire and alarm communication, fire behavior, portable extinguishers, fire streams and water supply, ladders, protective breathing apparatus

Note:

Trade jobs in the public vs. the private sector: Trade jobs in the public sector will often pay better than those in the private sector, however they are often shorter term contracts, while trade jobs in the private sector may pay slightly less than those in the public, but will be longer term.

Professional Development

Professional Development and Self Assessment Toolkit

Career Pathways

Labor Sectors

Job Markets

Finding a Job

Applying for Jobs

Vocational and Technical Education

College and Academic Education

The American Labor Market

Further Employment Considerations