Though vocational education seemed to lose momentum through the 1980s as students chose the college route and high schools cut back programs because of fading interest or tight budgets, it appears to be drawing renewed attention.
“There’s a growing realization that an academic education isn’t the only route to a well-paying job,” said Linda Helton, director of the Lake County Area Vocational Center/System (LCAVC), a high school and junior college level school that opened in 1977 in Grayslake. “For many students, an education that stresses development of high-level technical skills is much more likely to make them a prized employee in the year 2000 and beyond. Vocational education is job-specific; it’s education for employment.”
Kathy Nicholson-Tosh, manager of secondary programs and services for the Illinois State Board of Education, agreed. “We see a major emphasis in the private sector on vocational education. (Employers) are very concerned about the future of their workers. I think that with their influence, vocational education is getting a front seat” among educators.
She said that enrollment at the state’s 25 regional vocational centers such as Lake County’s had shown a steady decline but recent figures, still being compiled, indicate a rebound.
Overall in the latter 1970s, Helton said, a yearly average of 20,000 students statewide were enrolled in the centers. The number has dropped to 13,000. The Lake County center’s statistics mirror that drop. Enrollment there peaked at about 1,500 in 1980-81, then bottomed out at 940 in 1990-91. This year it’s up to 1,058. That follows a trend being seen throughout the state, according to Nicholson-Tosh.
Funding for the center, on the College of Lake County campus, is provided by participating high school districts and the state of Illinois.
Students typically begin attending LCAVC classes in their junior or senior year of high school, after having first taken preliminary courses, whenever possible, in their home schools. Participants are bused to the center for either the morning or the afternoon sessions.
“Much of this (vocational education) equipment is extremely expensive, so pooling resources makes good economic sense,” Helton explained. “And since any given high school may have only one or two students interested in a particular program, it makes similarly good sense to pool students.”
Advances in technology have made it increasingly necessary to design courses of study that extend beyond the high school years. “More and more of our programs are structured on a two-plus-two format,” Helton explained.
“Students begin the sequence in their junior year of high school and complete it two years after they graduate,” hence the two years plus two years, involving classes both at their schools and at the center. A growing number of these programs are industry-certified, meaning various industries involved in specific lines of work endorse the programs.
Falling into this category is the data-processing program certified by the Novell Corp., an international company specializing in computer networking and software development, with local headquarters in Rolling Meadows. A computer network is a system that allows several computers or computer terminals to communicate with each other or to have access to shared information. Students completing this sequence are certified as technicians deemed proficient in setting up networks.
Tech prep, a concept that has been instituted in high schools and vocational centers in the last few years, follows a two-plus-two-plus-two sequence. High school students following this format take the same courses as students preparing to enter a traditional four-year college. The tech-prep courses, however, use a much more job-specific curriculum than their academic counterparts.
In the medical assisting field, for example, students use mathematical concepts when they work with electrocardiograms or measure vital signs. According to Helton, the tech-prep approach gives students maximum flexibility.
“At no time are students cut off; the option to continue on to a four-year degree is always there. Because they develop marketable skills relatively early in their education, this track is especially good for students who need or want to split up their schooling.”
Bill Smith, warranty administrator at Outboard Marine Corp. in Waukegan, is a member of the vocational center’s advisory council, working in a partnership between industry and education.
“Vocational centers like LCAVC are extremely important,” he said. “This country is moving from a manufacturing to a service-oriented economy, and this shift is having a tremendous impact. People with high-tech skills are going to be in increasing demand; not everyone needs a four-year academic degree.”
Jeff Brown, customer service supervisor at Outboard Marine, said two graduates of vocational programs work in his department. “They’re extremely good workers. They put their nose to the grindstone and get the job done,” he said, explaining that work in his area requires an extensive knowledge of engine functions.
The focus of vocational education has changed, according to Edward Gonwa, regional superintendent of schools in Lake County. “There is a greater need than ever for students to consider vocational education or highly specialized training, because of the demands that the workplace is placing on our public,” he said.
Gonwa added that he wants more top students to follow the vocational path. “I’d like to see our top-level students consider careers in the technical areas. We see that (employers) need to have graduates who are very competent, very capable. There’s a sense of competition out there among the specialized industries to get highly trained, highly educated students.”
Libertyville High School senior Marc Gilman, an advanced woodworking student, works for a home-remodeling company on weekends and during school vacations. Future plans include a two-year associate’s degree from LCAVC and a career in the building trades.
“My friends aren’t oriented in the same direction,” he said, “but I get so much support from the teachers, as well as my parents, that I feel comfortable with what I’m doing. Having this kind of program has helped make high school a positive experience.”
But budget problems at some schools are forcing cutbacks in vocational education. So while the vocational center’s enrollment is on the increase, the schools that feed students to the center may have a difficult time tailoring programs to mesh with those at the center.
“We’re no longer able to offer advanced courses in metals and business education because of budgetary constraints,” said Adrian Mueller, vocational director for Antioch High School. “Buget cuts have not, however, affected Antioch students attending LCAVC.”
As academic credits toward graduation are emphasized, the growth of vocational programs may be stunted.
“State-mandated changes in graduation requirements have made it increasingly difficult for students to participate in this type of program,” said Don Tremper, vocational director at Waukegan High School. The courses needed for credit toward graduation don’t allow enough time for the vocational courses. “They’re caught in a credit crunch, which allows them less room to maneuver. It’s really unfortunate, because (the program) provides opportunities for developing job skills and for exploring areas with career potential.”
Nevertheless, the vocational center’s Helton is pushing ahead with what she sees as her mission: “We’re seizing the initiative; we’re taking the lead in career education by redefining vocational education and tailoring it to the needs of industry.”
