After more than three decades in education, Mike Feinberg has witnessed a significant shift in how success is defined for high school graduates. The Houston-based educator and entrepreneur is now challenging the “college-for-all” mentality that dominated education reform in recent decades, advocating instead for diverse career pathways that include both university and vocational training.

“We collectively shamed VO-tech out of the high schools, which was a terrible mistake,” Feinberg says. “And we basically told kids and parents that if you want to be successful in this world, you have to go to college.”

Changing the Educational Landscape

Through the Texas School Venture Fund, established in 2018, Feinberg is working to expand educational options in underserved communities. The fund has launched several initiatives, including neighborhood schools, early childhood programs, and WorkTexas, a trade school that provides free vocational training to both adults and high school students.

The evolution in Feinberg’s approach comes from years of observing student outcomes. “College prep is a good thing,” he explains. “We don’t need to get into a soft bigotry of low expectations debate. College prep should be all the schools, but college prep does not need to mean college for all.”

Meeting Industry Demands

WorkTexas has partnered with more than 148 Houston-area employers to develop training programs that address current workforce needs. The initiative offers instruction in various trades, including electrical work, welding, plumbing, HVAC maintenance, and commercial truck driving.

“Beyond the basic ones where I’m in Houston on the oil and gas industry, anywhere there’s manufacturing, machinists are in high demand,” Feinberg notes. “Go to any of the medical centers and they will tell you how desperate they are for the non-degree medical professions, the medical assistants, the phlebotomists, the patient care techs, they can’t get enough and they can’t keep them.”

The program’s approach emphasizes both technical and soft skills, with employers consistently emphasizing the importance of reliability and teamwork. Recent data shows that 70% of program graduates have secured new positions or advanced in their current roles, with average initial wages of $19.10 per hour.

Looking ahead, Feinberg sees an ongoing need for alternative career pathways. “Eventually we’re going to live in the Star Trek era and AI and technology are going to probably solve this for us,” he says. “Not in our lifetime though. And so that’s why there’s a need to do this to bridge ourselves to Star Trek.”

This pragmatic approach to workforce development represents a significant shift from the college-centric reform efforts of previous decades, acknowledging that success can take many forms and that educational systems must evolve to meet both student and industry needs.