"mac" wrote in message
...


http://www.answers.com/topic/vocatio...on-act-of-1917
A Review of Federal Vocational-Education Legislation 1862-1963
http://www.jstor.org/pss/1475196

I finish my Apprenticeship as a machinist in the fifties. In 1972
after working more than 15 years in the trade, Philadelphia was
opening three dedicate Vocational plants. Test was given for all
craftspeople needed.
The Vocational legislation required that to teach Voc-Ed, 15 years in
a trade is required We would be hired to teach at the level of pay
that our years of work experience brought to the teaching position. We
receive a temporary certification with the promise that we would
enroll in the certifying college and complete the required courses in
10 years.
The industrial Art teachers and the unions hated this and use many
methods to get their members into the positions.
One of the classes that I took, an introduction to Voc-Ed, it was said
that prior to World War one, most of the craftsmen was born in Europe.
WW1 stop the flow and the Legislators felt that the way to train US
craftsmen was to use experience craftsperson.
The Union got their way and I was on the list as a sub for a few years
and was promoted on my night job and didn't follow through.
billcotton.com

This is a very intereting thread and finding all the comments fascinating.
It reminded me that earier in Obama's term, he held the job summit of which
we heard little about then or now. I watched commentary between attendees
and reporters. They said the single most obvious problem, complained of by
many, was that they had jobs to give but no one trained well enough to do
them. The jobs they were referring to - welding.