Scholarships for Voc.-Ed. Training Go Untapped

By Peter West

Vocational education appears to have an image problem that even millions of dollars cannot solve.

Scholarship money for postsecondary technical training is languishing unused, vocational-education experts say, because high school students are not made aware of all of their options.

In Florida, where nearly a million dollars in scholarship money for technical and vocational schools went untapped last year, postsecondary school officials point to image problems. A lingering perception among Florida educators that vocational education is not a valid alternative to traditional academic programs may be a major reason why scholarship money is going...