Vocational Colleges & Training Programs


Vocational Programs Can Help You Go Where the Jobs Are
If you enjoy working with your hands--making, building, or fixing things--and are creative and expressive with your hands, you are probably well-suited to vocational programs.

The long-held perception that blue-collar, skilled trade jobs are inferior to white-collar jobs is not only unfair, it's outdated. Although vocational programs are mistakenly associated with poor pay or lack of education, they not only provide a high degree of technical training, but they can be quite financially rewarding.

Vocational Programs Make the World Go Round
Vocational programs can prepare you for a wide array of trades. Here are some of the most in-demand vocational trades:
  •   Welder
  •   Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning specialist
  •   Plumber
  •   Iron or steel worker
  •   Electrician
  •   Aircraft and avionics mechanic
  •   Automotive service technician
  •   Chef
  •   Cosmetologist
  •   Massage therapist

In fact, although many manufacturing jobs are being outsourced to other countries, causing a decline among some vocational jobs, the energy industry is creating demand for welders, pipe fitters, electricians, and more. It's projected that by 2012, nationwide demand for electricians, masons, and pipe fitters will exceed supply by at least 5 percent.

Not only that, but some of these jobs pay higher wages than some white-collar jobs, and offer greater job stability during challenging economic times.

What to Expect From Vocational Programs
Of course, vocational programs are highly targeted to the jobs for which they prepare students; they focus on practice, not theory, like many four-year university liberal arts programs. Typically, they involve a lot of hands-on experience. Students get to work in labs, with real machinery or clients, putting what they learn in the classroom into practice. Vocational programs and colleges also can generally be completed in two years or less, making them less expensive than four-year programs and helping graduates to enter the workforce more quickly.
Campus Programs
Online Programs

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