Many high schools have phased out vocational education.  It's a shame, especially in an economy where lathe operators and pipe-fitters can earn high salaries.  Vocational education got a bad reputation in the 1960s-1980s as a dumping ground for less-talented students.  A "college-for-everyone" snobbery took over school boards.   Here's Todd Buchholz's commentary from the PBS Nightly Business Report (scroll to minute 24:20 in [...]