Education Pioneer Says Eliminating Vocational Programs Was ‘Terrible Mistake’
Education Pioneer Says Eliminating Vocational Programs Was ‘Terrible Mistake’
The education reform movement of the 1990s successfully raised expectations for students in underserved communities. Charter schools proved that rigorous academics and college preparation could produce outcomes that contradicted demographic predictions.
But according to Mike Feinberg, one of that movement’s prominent architects, those gains came with unintended costs that education systems still struggle to address.
“We basically shamed vo-tech out of the high schools, which was a terrible mistake,” Feinberg reflects. “And we told kids and parents that if you want to be successful in this world, you have to go to college.”
The Skilled Trades Gap
The consequences of that messaging now manifest in workforce shortages across multiple industries. When asked about demand for electricians and plumbers, Feinberg points out the demographic reality: “Good luck finding a 30-year-old plumber.”
The shortage stems directly from “college for all” policies that dominated education during the 1990s and 2000s. Schools eliminated vocational programs. Guidance counselors focused exclusively on college applications. Parents viewed trade careers as fallback options rather than legitimate first choices.
Students who might have excelled in hands-on work spent years in college-prep curriculum studying subjects disconnected from their interests and abilities. Some never attended college despite the preparation. Others enrolled but didn’t finish, accumulating debt without credentials.
Mike Feinberg’s Current Work
The realization prompted Feinberg to establish WorkTexas in 2020, providing trade training in construction, healthcare, and transportation. The Houston-based program serves both high school students earning simultaneous diplomas and certifications, plus evening programs for adults.
The approach maintains high academic expectations—Feinberg insists that college preparation belongs in all schools—while expanding definitions of success beyond four-year degrees.
“College prep does not need to mean college for all,” he explains.
Reversing the skilled trades shortage requires both immediate action—training adults who missed earlier opportunities—and long-term reform through reintegrating vocational education into high schools.
The question facing education systems isn’t whether the college-for-all movement achieved important gains. The question is whether schools can course-correct without abandoning the high expectations that movement successfully established.
