Trade school enrollments boom as high school grads shun costly four-year degrees
Sean Salai
July 3, 2024
Vince Gregg, principal of Blue Ridge Technical Center in Front Royal, Virginia, says he learned the hard way about the costs of accumulating four years of college debt.
Mr. Gregg graduated from the University of Virginia in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in government, but he couldn’t repay his $60,000 in student loan debt until he obtained a master’s degree in education and a teaching license.
Now, he trains 600 students from two public high schools in Warren County to become cooks, auto mechanics, electricians, biomedical technicians and police officers instead of pursuing four-year college programs that may not pay their bills.
“More students are gravitating towards the trades because it’s hands-on and you can make a lucrative career for yourself right out of high school without financing $150,000 of debt to attend a four-year college,” Mr. Gregg told The Washington Times. “If the job you want requires a college degree, obviously you have to do that, but I think education needs to be about getting a livable wage in the kind of job you want.”
Enrollment has grown at Blue Ridge and similar programs as the costs of four-year programs soar and employers eliminate college degree requirements.
