The Case for Bringing Trades Back Into High Schools

Somewhere in the 1990s push for higher academic standards, vocational education got left behind. Co-founder of KIPP and WorkTexas Mike Feinberg thinks that was one of the costlier mistakes American schools have made — and he’s been working to reverse it.

Feinberg helped lead a generation of reform that tied school success to college enrollment. Looking back, he says the movement overcorrected. Students who might have thrived in skilled trades were steered toward four-year degrees. The message to families was clear, if unspoken: vo-tech was a lesser path.

“We shamed vo-tech out of the high schools,” Feinberg said. “That was a tragic mistake.”

Today, through WorkTexas and its partnership with Premier High School in Houston, Feinberg is making the case that trade skills and academic credentials aren’t competing goals. Students at the program earn high school credits while completing hands-on certification training in fields including electrical work, welding, plumbing and HVAC. Feinberg has also shared his views on workforce preparation in conversations and interviews that trace how that philosophy developed over decades.

WorkTexas built its curriculum with direct input from more than 100 employer partners who specified what skills they actually need. The gap between what workers can do and what job sites require, Feinberg found, goes beyond technical know-how. Employers want workers who communicate, collaborate and show up reliably — traits that formal schooling rarely addresses head-on.

Feinberg is direct about what the numbers show: technical skills account for roughly 30% of what employers look for. The remaining 70% of workforce success has nothing to do with tools or certifications. It comes down to reliability, communication and the ability to work on a team.

Feinberg points to the PTECH model — which embeds employer guidance directly into classroom instruction — as one example of doing trades-based education better than the old vo-tech model did. The goal isn’t just certificates. It’s making sure the credential means something to the person handing someone a job. More on Feinberg’s background and the path that led him from classroom teaching to workforce development is available through his public profiles.

WorkTexas graduates who complete the roughly 11-week programs see an average starting wage of around $19 per hour, according to program data. About 70% land a new job or advance in their current one after finishing.