| Massachusetts’s fiscal year 2026 budget that includes $100 million in grants to create an additional 3,000 vocational education seats is a good start, but more work is needed to meet statewide demand, according to a recent study from the Pioneer Institute.
The report, Expanding Access to Career Vocational Technical Education, authored by Salem State University economics professor Dr. Ken Ardon, found that Massachusetts still faces a shortage of about 8,100 vocational-technical education seats statewide.
“Many CVTE programs can’t accept all the students who want to attend,” Ardon said in a press release. “And the shortage is particularly severe in Gateway Cities, where half the applicants are turned away.”
A "Gateway City" is defined by state statute as having "a population greater than 35,000 and less than 250,000 with a median household income below the commonwealth’s average and a rate of educational attainment of a bachelor’s degree or above that is below the commonwealth’s average." Gateway Cities are economically struggling small and medium-size cities that are seen as economic entry points (or "gateways") to new residents of the state, including immigrants. The current list of 26 includes Worcester, Springfield, Brockton, Fall River, New Bedford, Lowell, Lawrence, Lynn, Salem, Pittsfield, Holyoke, and Taunton.
Massachusetts has about 55,000 students enrolled in vocational technical education programs — roughly one-fifth of all public high school students. Enrollment has increased by 2.4 percent over the past two years and by 24 percent since the 2011–2012 school year, even as overall high school enrollment has remained flat, the report said.
“The most recent state budget makes important progress with investments that will create 3,000 additional seats in our vocational-technical schools, which are a national model,” said Jamie Gass, director of Pioneer Education. “But voc-tech access remains uneven across Massachusetts and the job won’t be done until we eliminate the entire 8,100-seat shortage.”
The report found that student outcomes in vocational-technical programs are strong. Despite spending half their school time on career training, students perform as well on standardized tests (such as Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System test) as those in traditional high schools, according to the report. Voke-tech students are also more than twice as likely to enter the workforce directly after graduation and tend to earn more than their peers during the first 10 years after leaving high school.
The share of students enrolled in vocational technical programs varies widely by county — from none in Nantucket County (where there are no regional schools) and 7 percent in Suffolk County (which includes Boston) to 40 percent in Bristol County, the report said. Ardon urged the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to investigate why participation rates differ so sharply across regions.
“It may be the case, for example, that only 7 percent of public high school students in Suffolk County are enrolled in the programs because of a lack of good options,” Ardon said. “Such data would be critical in deciding how to allocate new CVTE capacity.”
Ardon said the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education already has detailed student-level data that could be used to study how vocational education affects achievement, wages, and employment, but that information is not being used to the fullest extent.
“The agency should conduct such evaluations,” Ardon wrote.
Vocational schools are more expensive to build and operate than traditional high schools — about 25 percent more expensive to construct, according to Pioneer. Ardon estimated that educating the additional 3,000 students under Governor Maura Healey’s plan would cost the state about $9 million a year.
The report also found that while demographics of vocational technical students and traditional high school students are broadly similar, vocational students are less likely to be English language learners (6 percent compared to 14 percent statewide) and have a much lower dropout rate (0.4 percent compared to 2.1 percent).
Ardon said expanding vocational education would provide strong economic returns and improve equity for students who may not pursue college.
“Spending on CVTE will also generate a return,” the report said. “To the extent that CVTE graduates join the labor force immediately, they begin contributing to the state’s economy and paying taxes more quickly than they would otherwise.” |
