Naperville North High School places great emphasis on academic excellence, and I can attest that North is a college-focused school. I would even argue that we’re… driven for college. 

While the traditional track of a four-year college post-graduation has prevailed as the most  popular and encouraged option, there are other paths that might be a better fit for some students. 

Skilled workers have been in demand recently. The impact of COVID-19, which has affected families’ financial situation and ability to pay for college, has made trade schools an even better option for many students. 

What are vocational, technical or trade schools? 

Trade schools are different from four-year colleges in that they don’t require any class credits that are unrelated to the skill being studied. While each school is unique, a trade school education is typically shorter, ranging from months to a couple years. 

Why choose a trade school? 

For students who may not thrive in a traditional classroom setting, or just want to take a different path, trade schools can provide a hands-on, interactive approach to learning. By emphasizing a certain field of study rather than an overall education, students can get their degrees faster and for cheaper. For those with other life obligations, such as taking care of family, a trade school is a great option. 

Learn more about opportunities. 

While my initial reaction was to criticize North for only preparing students for college (which they do a good job of), upon further research, I quickly realized that that is not the case. On the website for the College and Career Center, I stumbled upon more than ten apprenticeship opportunities in the area in addition to information about trades itself. However, one of the most resources is actually with the CTE Department.  There is a vast selection of classes in the Career and Technical Education Department. North offers over 70 classes in four subgroups: Business Technology, Family & Consumer Science, Technology & Engineering Education, and Agriscience. It has a host of classes lots of students aren’t even aware of.

To learn more about opportunities at North, I talked with Mr. LaPorte, the College and Career counselor. Here’s what he had to say:

How can students learn more about trade schools? 

There’s a lot of opportunities out there. Students can take advantage and enjoy some of the courses we have at North, whether that’s woodworking, automotives, electronics or taking advantage of any of our programs through CTE or the Technological Center of DuPage. If they find their niche there, they’ve already had a taste of what it’s like to go through that trade route. 

Is there a negative stigma associated with going to trade school? How can we change that?

There’s this public expectation in Naperville. We are a very college-oriented community – which is awesome – but in some ways, students who aren’t going the traditional route feel as though they are doing less. However, in no way is skilled labor a step down from college, it’s just an alternate route to go. Whether it’s peer pressure, pressure at home or pressure at school, I want there to be an outlet for those students to feel they want to do the trades and be successful as anyone else.

What resources are available to students at North?

People think of the College and Career Center as a place just for college, but [students who are interested in trades and gap years] keep me on my toes. I might not know the answer immediately, but I know the people to talk to to get the answers in the community. Anyone who has a question about what to do in life after high school, I want to be the resource for them. 

What opportunities are available to students post college? 

A project called Hire-Ed will pair students up with unions in certain fields, and once a student is paired up with a union, they will train and take classes at COD. The rest of the time they will have hands-on training for the particular union. The plus side of that is they are getting paid from day one, their tuition is covered, and they will be fully trained to go into the union upon completion.  

Whether it be college, the trades, or another track, each student should choose the option that is best for them. For more information on opportunities, be sure to visit the College and Career Center in the Learning Commons, or schedule an appointment Mr. LaPorte.