•Your editorial (“High School Reform, Round 1”) calling for federal cuts in vocational training does a disservice to the millions of young people who choose these programs and shows a basic misunderstanding of their value. Speaking on behalf of the automobile retail industry, I can tell you that vocational training programs in the auto repair field provide a vital pipeline to a new generation of skilled auto technicians.
That’s no small matter, as the Department of Labor projects that an additional 32,000 auto technicians are needed annually in the next decade alone. Many vocational schools and auto dealers are teaming up to give kids real-world, on-site training in auto service, through a dynamic education-industry partnership called Automotive Youth Educational Systems, or AYES.
These students are on the path to a highly satisfying high-tech career, with six-figure potential, made possible through vocational programs. The driving public benefits, as well. When you consider that today’s cars have more than 10,000 moving parts and computing power greater than the Apollo moon launch, the nature of the car repair business has changed dramatically and highly focused training programs like these are indispensable to vehicle safety.
For many kids, the path to college is the right choice; but it’s not for everyone. More than 30 percent of students at four-year colleges don’t qualify for a degree even after six years of trying. Vocational training programs, like those in the auto repair field, open doors that sometimes high school and college can’t. It makes no sense to slam them shut.
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