Worcester Tech: What California Can Learn and How We Can Do It Our Own Way
Anya Dalal
A recent Wall Street Journal article spotlighted Worcester Technical High School, and the attention is well deserved. Worcester Tech is an example of what vocational education can be when it is treated as rigorous, modern, and central to a region’s economy. Students graduate with industry certifications, hands-on experience, and clear pathways into well-paid jobs or further education.
For the California Association of Youth Commissions (CAYC), this story should land as a challenge to California. Not because we lack ambition, but because we have not built enough systems that take vocational education seriously at scale.
The urgency is growing, as artificial intelligence is reshaping the labor market, and many traditional entry-level white-collar roles are shrinking. Meanwhile, demand is rising for skilled workers who can build, maintain, and operate complex physical systems: electricians working with smart grids, technicians supporting advanced manufacturing, and healthcare technologists. These jobs endure because they combine human judgment with hands-on expertise. When done well, vocational education expands opportunity rather than limits it.
California already recognizes this in theory through Career Technical Education and regional programs, but in practice, these opportunities are fragmented. Few students attend full-time technical high schools where academics and industry training are fully integrated, and even fewer are exposed to career pathways by junior year, when postsecondary decisions begin to take shape.
Some local leaders are beginning to address this gap. In San Francisco, Mayor Daniel Lurie has made workforce development a core pillar of his Family Opportunity Agenda, expanding dual enrollment and early college pathways in partnership with City College of San Francisco. Through this initiative, high school juniors can earn industry credentials or associate degrees in fields such as healthcare, construction, early childhood education, and the skilled trades, before graduating.
California’s opportunity is not to copy Worcester Tech, but to adapt its model to our own economy. A California approach should reflect the industries that define the state: biotech manufacturing and quality systems, robotics, automation, and semiconductor adjacent technicians, and clean energy and climate-aligned trades such as EV and battery specialists. These roles are essential to California’s future, yet too many students never see them as viable pathways.
Programs must evolve with labor market demand, emphasize transferable skills like automation, safety and quality control, and maintain strong partnerships with employers and community colleges.
The CAYC urges state and local leaders to expand junior year access to vocational and dual enrollment pathways, invest in career-focused technical high schools, and strengthen partnerships among school districts, community colleges, cities, and employers. Youth deserve clear, credible pathways from school to skilled work, and California can lead.
Image credit: LSI