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Importance of Vocational Education

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Submitted By mymridon
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Importance of Vocational Training
Introduction: Service Project/Research Topic
Though this paper is about Vocational Education and Training, I'll begin with a discussion of reason behind the topic. For the last couple months, our English class has had the assignment to complete twenty hours of service to solve a community issue. For the first while I had no clue what I was going to do for my service project much less find a research topic related to my service.
I raked through my memory and I remembered one experience I had with my former wood shop teacher at Orem High School. He had already retired and came in to visit the shop and we were talking about why he had retired. Though he seemed nostalgic and remorseful about leaving the school, he stated very bluntly that vocational education was fading and would soon be unimportant. I did not ever have a chance to ask him what he meant, but I think I figured it out. He meant that in the United States, as well as in countries such as China (Willis 39) and India (Agrawal 453), Vocational Education and Training (VET) has begun to fade and but its significance is still prominent. We already see this in Nigeria. (Kennedy 274)
So that is what I picked for my research topic, and I decided to volunteer at Orem High's wood shop and see for myself the advantages and disadvantages of a lower level VET program. I have concluded that VET programs are highly valuable, need support, and should be recognized as vital and call for more VET programs.
Background Information
So what is VET? Vocational Education and Training is any kind of education or training that prepares students for a vocation. These are often referred to as 'trade schools' or 'technical colleges'. Examples of vocations are carpentry, welding, sewing, cooking, pharmacy, cosmetology, masonry, plumbing, farming, mining,

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