‘Tool belt generation': High school grads choosing trade schools over 4-year colleges

Many high school graduates are choosing to enter skill trades — such as construction, welding and plumbing — instead of a four-year college. But what is the appeal?

In a few months, 18-year-old Ian Mundo will become an electrician.

“I just want to get something really quick, be done with it, go to work,” said Mundo, who graduated from high school not even a year ago. “I like to get my hands dirty."

Oscar Castañeda says he wants to expand his opportunities. After becoming an electrician, he is now learning welding skills.

“There is a demand for electricians, plumbers, welders, any trade. There’s always going to be work. There is a high demand,” Castañeda said.

It's a feeling that the majority of the students at the Center for Employment Training (CET) say they share with Castañeda and Mundo.

Daniel Morales is the director of CET, a nonprofit organization in charge of 12 trade schools like the one in San Diego. The school teaches skilled trades, like electrician, welding and construction. And starting in June, it will also teach heating, ventilation and air conditioning.

These are skills that are recession-proof and in demand, Morales says.

“Since the pandemic, a lot of older generations started to retire, and I think that sped things up for them,” Morales said.

But the economic part of it is what Morales says is a big appeal of trade schools.

“For a trade school, you’re looking at $15,000 to $16,000, and that is before any financial aid, which could reduce your bill to half,” Morales said.

That’s compared to an average of $25,000-$45,000 for a four-year degree at a public school in California.

The value of getting into the workforce without the debt of a traditional degree is a main factor for Castañeda. More than 70% of CET students have a job at the time of graduation, which, according to Morales, is proof that the demand for these skills exists.

“Students can come back in 10 to 20 years, and we’ll help them look for work, no questions asked," Morales said.

“We have students that came out and put all the effort and work, and they demand $30, sometimes $40 an hour,” Morales said.

And trade schools like welding are very popular among women.

"A lot of our students pay a lot of attention to detail and end up being better students than our guys," Morales said. "They end up being better students and get better job offers.”

Perla Saavedra is one of them. She is graduating in a few weeks and is already considering job offers. She said that even before finishing high school last year, she knew she wanted to learn skills for life and chose tools over textbooks. Her career choice was highly criticized. 

“They said I would probably not make it out and not last, that is only a man,” Saavedra said.

Did she prove them wrong? In a few weeks, she will graduate from the Green Building Construction Skills program, which includes carpentry, electricity, plumbing, interior and exterior finishing, and installation of solar panels.

“Later on, they might see that I could actually do it,” Saavedra said.

It’s not only the young generations that see the value in trade schools. A Pew Research study shows that only 1 in 4 American adults believes having a college degree is extremely or very important. And roughly half of those people say it's less important to have a four-year college degree today in order to get a well paying job than it was 20 years ago.

The course at CET takes between six and seven months if students attend the morning shifts, which are longer days. It's nine to 10 months for students of evening classes since they attend fewer hours a day.

Also, CET has an open and exit program, so students can start the programs at any time of the year.