When the plumbing goes bad, your hair needs cutting, or your car breaks down, who will get the call? Most people will answer “the plumber, the stylist, or the auto repair shop down the street at Wal-Mart.” This answer is mostly correct. However, the focus needs to be on how those people got to where they are today. These people, who work so hard for us every day, need to receive some consideration. In most cases they would have attended a vocational high school or a technical institute. These are special schools where students learn the exact skills they need to complete their desired career in an accelerated period of time. More people should be encouraged to attend these schools, because we will need more blue collar workers in our future. Students as young as fourteen can enter these vo-tech high schools to begin training for their future careers (Nolan 4) . This may seem young to some parents because the common misconception of these schools is that the student interrupts traditional education to enter technical classes (Nolan 3). This is a false statement. Any high school student who decides to enroll in a technology program must still attend all core classes. At Central Nine in Indianapolis, students must spend half a day at their regular high school. They still must take English, math, science and all other required courses in order to graduate with their class. They then spend the second half of the day attending professional classes in the Central Nine building, learning skills for their desired career. For too long, people have viewed trade school as a second-class option compared to a traditional college. Some believe that only lower achieving students will attend this type of school… middle of the paper… we consider them. On the other hand, we don't need to force this concept on these good people who are firmly fixated on a four-year college. Vocational school is not for everyone. Some people are simply not suited to manual labor. That's okay though, we still need lawyers and bankers in our world. Encouragement is a common word in this article. The best thing that can be done to solve the problem of declining enrollment in technical colleges is to encourage people to consider this type of education. Encourage people to consider this type of education, because we will need more blue-collar workers in our future. Encourage current or former students to talk about their experiences in tech schools with people confused about what they want to do with their lives. Encourage them that this option is NOT for underachievers, but for overachievers.