Business, Community, and Education Leaders Announce Alliance For Vocational Technical Education

BOSTON, MA – Business, community, and education leaders from across Massachusetts today announced the formation of the Alliance for Vocational and Technical Education (AVTV), a new broad-based coalition of employers, community-based organizations, educators, and experts that have come together to advocate for high-quality Career and Vocational Technical Education in Massachusetts.

In his State of the Commonwealth speech, Governor Charlie Baker announced that his economic development bill will invest more than $80 million dollars in our career and technical schools.

“These schools are a pathway to a bright future. The skills they teach are widely in demand, and many of them are already well plugged into the job creators in their communities,” Baker said in his speech. “In an age when too many people are struggling to find work that pays well, these schools have so much to offer, and we should help them make that happen.”

An average of 3,200 students in Massachusetts schools are stuck on waiting lists for vocational technical high schools each year due to a lack of physical seat capacity. Seventy percent of the students on wait lists live in a Gateway City.

At the same time, many Massachusetts employers have trouble filling jobs that require technical skills, and anticipate serious vacancies due to a lack of skilled workers in the future, especially as existing workers retire.

An October report by the Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy at Northeastern University found that “the majority of the expected job openings in MA between now and 2022 will require no more than a vocational education or a community college associate’s degree.”

“The newly-formed AVTE is made up of employers, community-based organizations, educators, and policy groups that have come together to address two connected issues of access to skills-based education for students and training of skilled workers for our state’s employers,” said Jack Livramento, Board President of the Massachusetts Communities Action Network. “If a student has a general high school diploma, they can’t get a good job, therefore for students to succeed they need access to a skills based education. We’ve developed a set of solutions to this problem and Governor Baker stepped up today to make commitments that will help put us on the path to eliminating waiting lists at vocational high schools and ensuring that every employer in the Commonwealth can find the skilled workers they need.”

“The single biggest issue among the employer community is the need for skilled and motivated workers,” said Tim Murray, President & CEO of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce. “Employers already know the high quality graduates that our vocational technical schools produce. Our efforts with AVTE are to expand that pool of talent and create meaningful career paths for young people as well as those seeking to upgrade their skills.”

At the event at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, the Alliance for Vocational and Technical Education released a new report, conducted by the Dukakis Center, which examined public perceptions of Career and Vocational Technical Education among employers, Career and Vocational Technical Education school administrators, students at regional Career and Vocational Technical Education high schools, recent graduates of Career and Vocational Technical Education schools and programs, parents of Career and Vocational Technical Education students, and the community at large, and found both broad support for career technical programs and a need to increase the number of vocational high school graduates.

Findings of the report include the following:

• More than 90% of employers surveyed see a need to increase the number of vocational technical high school graduates.
• Employers surveyed prefer to hire graduates from Career and Vocational Technical Education schools or programs for both entry-level (75%) and higher-level (61%) positions.
• Career and Vocational Technical Education schools and programs only serve 20% of the entire enrolled high school population, and 33% of the Commonwealth’s 351 cities and towns are not served by any career technical programs.
• The percentage of students who did not get into their first-choice vocational technical program has increased from 8% among alumni to 16% among current students, suggesting that limited space in particular programs is reducing student choice in the state’s vocational technical schools.

“Our research has shown that Massachusetts will have 1.2 million job openings between 2012 and 2022, two-thirds as the result of retirements from existing jobs and the need for replacement workers,” said Barry Bluestone, Director of the Dukakis Center. “More than 60% of these job openings will require less than a four year college degree. Therefore, our vocational schools are critically necessary to fill this potentially gaping hole in our labor market.”

The Alliance for Vocational and Technical Education also released a set of policy recommendations to increase access to high-quality Career and Vocational Technical Education in Massachusetts. Key recommendations include the following:

· Expand utilization of existing Articulation Agreements and Early College High School models that allow students to earn free college credit for courses that they take in high school.

· Maximize seat capacity of existing Career and Vocational Technical Education schools and programs by encouraging experimentation and providing seed money to support model programs and those showing promise.

· Facilitate best practices and co-developed training models between Career and Vocational Technical Education and comprehensive high schools.

· Increase investments in Career and Vocational Technical Education operations to immediately address access for 3200 students on current Career and Vocational Technical Education waitlist.

“One of the successes of vocational technical education is the ability to meet the labor market demands of business and industry,” said David J. Ferreira, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Association of Vocational Administrators (MAVA). “The Alliance for VocationalTechnical Education recognizes that creating quality workforce development opportunities for emerging careers in our innovation economy is crucial to the economic stability of the Commonwealth. Together we will expand access to vocational technical schools and help prepare the workforce of the future.”

“The Alliance believes that every child should have access to high-quality CVTE programs, facilities, and equipment, and that CVTE students should reflect the socioeconomic diversity of the Commonwealth,” said Marybeth Campbell, Director of SkillWorks Funders Collaborative. “We further believe that CVTE programs should satisfy the needs–immediate and long-term–of Massachusetts employers.”

“Being at a vocational school has given me experiences that I never had in a traditional school setting,” said Tatyana Foskey, a student from Wareham studying Environmental Technology at the Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical School. “I’ve learned that I don’t need to ask my science teacher ‘why do I have to learn this? I’ll never use it.’ What I learn in science, math and English is used in my trade often. During my junior and senior years I’ll be able to start a job because of the experience, practice, skills, and knowledge I’m learning now.”

“The Career and Vocational Technical Education system is critical to the Commonwealth’s ability to compete,” said Bryan Jamele, Executive Vice President of the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership. “Vocational technical students are combining the technical skills that are necessary in our 21st century economy with critical thinking and soft skills, which our employers search for and highly value. That integration is vital to ensuring a workforce that is prepared to meet current market demands as well as future needs.”

Evidence and research indicates that Career and Vocational Technical Education programs deliver tremendous value to students, families, communities, and employers across the state.

The AVTE’s new report found that by a wide margin (96%), parents had a favorable opinion of the vocational technical school or program their kids were enrolled in, with 68% reporting a “very favorable” opinion. Among community members who are parents of children age 15 or younger, more than two-thirds report that they would consider sending them to Career and Vocational Technical Education schools or programs.

“It is our collective experience that graduates of CVTE programs secure high-wage jobs, possess strong academic, technical, and professional skills, are well prepared for further training in skilled occupations and careers, and enroll in and graduate from 2- and 4- year post-secondary schools in large numbers,” said Julie Hackett, Superintendent of Taunton High School.

“As an employer, I know that the work of the Alliance for Vocational and Technical Education is critical to ensuring Massachusetts has a state of the art workforce trained for todays’ needs,” said Sue Mailman, CEO of Coghlin Electrical Contractors in Worcester. “Those in vocational education know that this is the mission of our schools, and it is so encouraging to understand the breadth of advocacy and resources coming together today to promote broader access to programs across the state.”

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The Alliance for Vocational and Technical Education is a new partnership of varied member organizations that all recognize the worth of Career and Vocational Technical Education (CVTE) in Massachusetts. The Alliance believes that every child should have access to high-quality CVTE programs, facilities, and equipment, and the CVTE students should continue to reflect the socioeconomic diversity of the Commonwealth. We further believe that CVTE programs should satisfy the needs—immediate and long-term—of Massachusetts employers. The Alliance will work with employers, educators, community and mission-based organizations, and all levels of government to promote CVTE as a powerful educational resource and indispensable foundation for future prosperity across the Commonwealth.

The Alliance includes a diverse group of public and private organizations that don’t necessarily agree on public policy issues, but all recognize the importance of skills-based education in Massachusetts. They include the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership, the Massachusetts Business Roundtable, the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education, the Massachusetts Association ofVocational Administrators, The Workforce Solutions Group, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Boston, JFY NetWorks, MassINC, SkillWorks, MassDevelopment, the Massachusetts Communities Action Network, the Nellie Mae Foundation, the Pioneer Institute, Commonwealth Corporation, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, and the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce. Learn more at allianceforvoceducation.org.