Gen-Z is shunning college to take up traditional trades like welding and ... trends now
Increasing numbers of Generation Z are opting out of college and turning to vocational schools with hopes of higher wages and avoiding student debt, data shows.
Young people who came of age during the pandemic said they have been deterred from four year universities by high tuition and the prospect of student debt.
Instead, they are attending trade schools where they have been enticed by well-paying job opportunities and satisfying work.
The National Student Clearing House recorded a 16 percent increase in enrollment at two-year schools with a 'high vocational program focus' and a 2.6 percent rise in community college enrollment in 2023, reported Bloomberg.
'It's a really smart route for kids who want to find something and aren't gung ho on going to college,' wielding program graduate Tanner Burgess, 20, told The Wall Street Journal.
Alezet Valerio, 18, who started at a construction site right after graduating high school said she loves her job and finds it rewarding to building something
Young people who came of age during the pandemic said they have been deterred from four year universities and are attending trade schools instead
On TikTok, one young electrical lineman said he makes $200,000 a year and owns multiple homes
'It feels good at the end of the day, I'm physically doing something and there's a sense of completion.'
There was a 23 percent increase in students studying construction trades in 2023 compared to the year before, and a seven percent increase in HVAC and vehicle maintenance and repair programs.
Largely left on their own amid remote learning, many felt they weren't learning anything, and the idea of four more years of school, or even two, held little appeal.
At the same time, the nation's student debt has soared. Over 43
