Mass. needs to update restrictive apprenticeship laws
More than 450,000 new construction workers are needed nationally to meet current demand, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors report, and that number is growing. This shortfall supports the Globe’s call to expand access to Massachusetts’ vocational-technical schools (“Voc-tech schools offer a brass ring to a good job — but only for those who get a coveted slot,” Editorial, Jan. 8).
However, there is a little-known problem that will severely limit the potentially life-changing impacts of increasing vocational school enrollments. After graduating from vocational school, the next step in the trades is apprenticeship, which generally takes three to five years. Massachusetts has antiquated laws that limit apprentice hiring. These laws set hiring ratios as restrictive as one apprentice per five experienced journeypersons, which narrows the employment pipeline.
These ratios are especially challenging for smaller contractors that don’t have enough experienced workers to make the numbers work. Decades ago, the justification for these restrictions was to protect veteran workers. Now veteran workers are retiring in droves, and restrictive ratios only exacerbate labor shortages. Improved access to vocational schools must be accompanied by a pathway to employment. It’s time to review these apprentice hiring restrictions.
Greg Beeman
President
Associated Builders and Contractors of Massachusetts
Woburn
One-size-fits-all admissions lottery is not the answer
We were deeply disappointed to read your editorial supporting a lottery for vocational school admissions, and we take issue with your argument.
We are proud that student enrollment in Massachusetts’ vocational-technical schools mirrors the demographics of our sending districts across all four protected classes — students of color, low-income students, English learners, and students with disabilities. It’s actual enrollment in our schools, not offers of admission (which the editorial also cites), that is the only reliable metric. State data on offers is, at best, incomplete and misleading.
Further, your editorial should have noted that both Worcester Technical High School and Assabet Valley Regional Vocational Technical use multiple selective criteria in their new admissions policies, such as attendance and discipline. It is far too soon to determine whether enrollment is increasing among all protected classes or if any so-called success is actually the result of a lottery.
A one-size-fits-all lottery will create problems, including uncertainty and budget volatility for member cities and towns. Because of the way our schools apportion costs, communities in regional districts could be left paying for a school that doesn’t enroll a single student from that town.
Vocational programs have a statewide waiting list of 6,000 to 11,000 students because we offer what students want. A lottery will not change that and is not the answer. The answer is more seats.
Steven C. Sharek
Executive director
Massachusetts Association of Vocational Administrators
Marlborough
Lottery would address unacceptable systemic inequities
Kudos to the Globe for calling for a lottery to admit students to our state’s vocational-technical schools and programs. As a lawsuit filed last year claims, Massachusetts has been committing a civil rights violation for years by allowing vocational schools to select applicants using grades, discipline record, attendance, and recommendations.
Statewide, students of color, low-income students, students with disabilities, and English learners all have lower grades and attendance and higher suspension rates than their more privileged peers. Thus, it is no surprise that for the 2022-2023 school year, the statewide rates of applicants from these four groups being offered a vocational seat ranged from 11 to 20 percentage points lower than their more privileged peers.
None of these selective criteria have anything to do with whether a student may be successful in a vocational school. Many of us know students who have struggled academically and are disengaged from their traditional school, yet can follow a blueprint or create and code a video game with ease.
Our vocational schools are making discriminatory decisions for 13- and 14-year-olds that have lifetime implications for whether students from historically marginalized groups have a pathway to middle-class jobs and lives. It’s high time for the governor, Legislature, and Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to do the right thing and mandate a lottery for every vocational school and program.
Dan French
Boston
The writer, president of the board of Citizens for Public Schools, is a member of the Vocational Education Justice Coalition.
We need more voc-tech schools — they’re well worth the investment
Re “Voc-tech schools offer a brass ring to a good job — but only to those who get a coveted slot”: Your editorial focuses on a major opportunity for the city and the state, one that needs to be addressed much more seriously. There are jobs and there are good jobs. People with good jobs can accumulate personal wealth, build a family, acquire sound health care, maybe start a business, and give the next generation a head start. Collectively, having more people in good jobs builds strong communities; reduces poverty, crime, and social costs; and supports local businesses with greater spending.
As you point out, a voc-tech school education leads to good jobs. We need more of these schools. Their cost will be offset by the increase in the tax base and lower social costs. If the city and the state need more justification, the current movement among employers to shift to skill-based hiring rather than sole dependence on college degrees will increase opportunity and demand for voc-tech graduates.
Don Carlson
Boston
The writer is forming a nonprofit with the mission of connecting job seekers in communities of color in Boston with prospective employers.