Gen Z heads to trade school as college costs rise

Cody Forst has been a fleet mechanic for Jensen Precast in Phoenix, Arizona, for a few months. “So ultimately, I made the decision to follow my passion.” Trade, vocational programs booming According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, the number of students enrolled in community colleges with a vocational focus continues to climb. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, an on-campus student's average price for a public, four-year college degree was $27,100 for the 2022-2023 school year. A lot of my classmates had help with grants and some had help from other sources to pay for their school.” Trades offer job security, less debt In McAllen, Texas, Juan Castillo, 25, attended South Texas Vocational Technical Institute, where he completed the HVAC program in August. “If there's one thing I would do differently, it would be going to trade school after high school,” he said.