ocational high schools have for decades been a gateway to trades such as carpentry, electrical work, and automotive repair. Now, as the labor market shifts into new kinds of occupations — biotechnology, engineering, and robotics — many Massachusetts schools are overhauling their buildings and programs to keep up.
More than half of the state’s regional vocational high schools have applied for, started, or completed major construction projects since 2011, according to the Massachusetts School Building Authority.
It’s the biggest building boom since the era when most of the schools were built, according to Dave Ferreira, communications director at the Massachusetts Association of Vocational Administrators.
“From 1968 to 1975, an awful lot of them were built,” said Ferreira, who has worked in vocational education for most of his career. “That means that all of those are relatively old for building standards.”