Residents of nine South Shore communities have overwhelmingly voted in favor of funding the construction of a new, $276.4 million South Shore Technical High School, signaling a growing desire for trade school education in the region.
In a districtwide special election on Jan. 25, 6,643 voted in favor and 1,906 against the school. The project will replace the current South Shore Tech building, increasing its student capacity and offering programs in plumbing and veterinary science in addition to the dozen it now offers, including carpentry and electrical.
Vocational education is becoming increasingly popular across the country. Many students are opting into these programs to meet the rising demand for skilled work and because they find the trades more financially advantageous than pursuing increasingly expensive college degrees. In Massachusetts, one in eight public high school students attends a trade school.
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“I’ve been at South Shore for 30 years, and without a doubt, there’s been a sea change in attitudes toward vocational technical education,” Superintendent Tom Hickey said. “We’re in a Renaissance moment where people are saying, ‘College for everyone is not affordable or ideal.’ Vocational graduates have a very strong track record of success on day one, including not shutting the door to college.”
The Massachusetts School Building Authority will fund $111 million of the project. The new facility will accommodate 900 students, up from the current building’s capacity of 685. It will be constructed at the same address as the current school, located where the athletic field currently stands, according to Hickey.
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“We calculated that this project would cost $162 million for a brand-new facility, more seats, and two new vocational programs,” Hickey said. “It was about $140 million over several years to just maintain the building we have.”
The groundbreaking is slated for 2026 and the project is expected to take 10-12 months to complete. The first class will attend the new school in the fall of 2028. Between 2028-2029, the old facility will be demolished, and new athletic fields and additional parking will take its place, Hickey said.
Trade schools have enjoyed a surge in popularity post-pandemic. Education experts attribute this to the skyrocketing cost of attending college, which, according to the Education Data Initiative, has more than doubled since the start of the century, amid evolving views about the importance of a college education. A Pew Research report from last year found that 49 percent of US adults say it’s less important to have a four-year college degree today to get a well-paying job than it was 20 years ago.
Some experts urge caution regarding the growing popularity of vocational education while others believe learning a trade is a more reliable path to employment than earning a college degree. Recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reveal a different picture: on average, individuals with a bachelor’s degree or higher continue to earn more and face lower unemployment rates than those with any other level of education.
Nathan Metcalf can be reached at