When I moved to a suburb of Columbus Ohio decades ago, they had one of the top ten school districts in the country. It was why we chose to live there. Part of the curriculum they offered was a top notched vocational school. In the late 70's till 2000 it was thriving. They offered training in just about anything one needed to be certified by the state to practice. Everything from electricians, plumbers, machinists, auto mechanics, cosmetologists, dental hygienists etc. It was a two year program. The vocational school worked with local businesses and all students were placed in a work program in their senior year where they worked so many hours a week. And they had to pass their state certification in order to receive their HS diploma.
Back then kids were evaluated by their counselors. You were placed in three different catagories. Some were college prep material, others were business material and others were vocational material.
They also had an excellent business program to prepare students to find a job as secretaries, file clerks, bookkeepers, receptionists, typesetters, proofreaders and a number of entry level positions that the student upon graduation could have a job, a stepping stone to something bigger and better. The school worked with several companies in the area and in Columbus where their students would attend classes half a day their junior and senior year and work half a day on the job training and upon graduation they had a full time jobs which often offered additional training to advance in the company that they had already spent 2 years working.
The original vocational school in my area was converted into needed classrooms for 5th and 6th graders as the school district had greatly expanded and an new career center opened up a few miles away.
I am a huge supporter of vocational schools. Not everyone is college material and that lie that so many spew claiming they are needs to stop. Because of that lie, entrance exams have been lowered so far just to accommodate those who really shouldn't be there. But there is a lot of federal money the universities and colleges can lap up in doing so.
It is far better to provide training so a student upon graduation can actually be certified and get a job, be self sufficient, pay taxes and contribute to society.