From Caps & Gowns to Coveralls: The Return of the Trades

by John F. Wright, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP

How the shift toward career and technical education is reshaping campuses, communities, and design priorities

A transformation is redefining higher education, one that started quiet and unnoticed but has now amplified to a consistent and meaningful part of the conversation. Across the country, and notably in the South and Southeast, enrollment in trade and technical programs, defined here as skilled trades such as welding, HVAC, electrical, automotive technology, and advanced manufacturing, is outpacing traditional four-year degree growth. The State of Florida, where Spiezle operates two offices and provides services to a significant number of educational institutions across a broad expanse of the state, is at the forefront of this movement. Welding labs, advanced manufacturing bays, Career and Technical Education programs, and automotive training centers are expanding. While new purpose-built facilities are being constructed as fast as possible to respond to this demand, colleges are also creatively retrofitting any available existing space for hands-on learning.

This shift—from caps and gowns to coveralls—is not just an academic trend for colleges and universities to manage; it’s an exciting design and planning opportunity for architects and planners. Institutions are rethinking their physical campuses to align with workforce needs, strengthen community partnerships, and deliver modern learning environments that attract students and industry partners alike.

The Data: A Measurable Shift Toward the Trades

• Enrollment Growth: US College enrollment has returned to pre-pandemic levels this fall. Vocationally focused public two-year colleges have seen nearly a 20% enrollment increase since spring 2020, reaching approximately 871,000 students nationwide. Community colleges have seen enrollment growth of 3%.
• Certificate Programs: Short-term credential programs are up nearly 30% compared to pre-pandemic levels, signaling a preference for quicker, skill-focused education.
• Workforce Demand: The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects about 70,000 annual openings for automotive service technicians and over 45,000 openings per year for welders—steady, long-term demand driven by retirements and infrastructure investment.

These figures tell a consistent story: students and employers are increasingly choosing practical, hands-on pathways that connect education to immediate opportunity. With the advent of the federal government’s new Workforce Pell Grant program, which provides federal funds to students enrolled in short-term credential programs, including Emergency Medical Technicians, automotive mechanics and more, there will likely be even greater enrollment numbers in July of 2026.

Design Implications: Campuses Built for Skills

As technical and workforce programs expand, architectural design and master planning must evolve to support new models of learning and collaboration. Traditional academic buildings—built for lectures and labs—often lack the flexibility and infrastructure needed for the applied learning requirements of welding, fabrication, HVAC, or EV automotive programs.

Key design implications include:

• Purpose-Built Training Environments: High-bay labs with industrial systems, flexible equipment layouts, and integrated safety zones are replacing underused general classrooms.
• Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration: Spaces that blend classroom instruction with fabrication and digital design (e.g., simulation labs, maker spaces, CNC training) encourage innovation across trades and technologies.
• Visibility and Outreach: Glass-walled labs and open shopfronts help showcase career-technical programs as high-tech, high-value pathways—changing public perception of “the trades.”
• Scalable Campus Planning: Master plans increasingly include “industry corridors” or “workforce villages”—clusters of training centers linked to regional economic drivers such as advanced manufacturing, logistics, or energy.
• Sustainability and Resilience: New facilities are often designed for LEED or WELL standards, demonstrating institutional commitment to both workforce and environmental stewardship.

These design responses mirror a cultural transition: the trades are being rebranded from a fallback to a first choice.

Florida Case Studies: Colleges Leading the Way

Spiezle is partnering with colleges to deliver creative and functional design solutions that respond to the current and targeted future demands of each specific institution and the communities they serve, including projects at Daytona State College and Santa Fe College.

Daytona State College – Welding Technology Expansion

Daytona State College’s Welding Technology program has become a model for workforce-responsive design. Offering certificates in Welding Technology and Advanced Welding, the program expanded with new daytime cohorts and updated labs to accommodate increased demand.

The welding lab’s design emphasizes flexibility—multiple bays equipped for SMAW, GMAW, and GTAW processes, advanced ventilation, and demonstration areas for blueprint reading and safety instruction. This environment supports both new learners and incumbent worker upskilling.

For planners and designers, projects like this underscore the need for adaptive reuse and future-ready infrastructure—spaces that can evolve with changing technology and industry standards.

Santa Fe College – Automotive Training Modernization

Santa Fe College recently secured a $245,955 Equipment Upgrade & Modernization (EUM) grant to advance its automotive programs, along with a $1.57 million Workforce Development Capitalization grant to expand career-technical facilities across rural counties.

The College’s investment in modern diagnostic equipment and EV training stations reflects how facility modernization is essential to curriculum modernization. Automotive labs now feature high ceilings, integrated mechanical systems, and digital simulation areas that support both combustion and electric vehicle training.

From a design standpoint, these facilities double as community showcases—demonstrating transparency, innovation, and the college’s alignment with industry trends.

The Role of Architects and Planners in Workforce Evolution

As higher education pivots to meet workforce needs, architects and planners are uniquely positioned to:

• Develop master plans that integrate workforce centers with core academic campuses, breaking down silos between technical and traditional learning.
• Reimagine existing buildings for new uses—turning vacant retail, industrial, or classroom space into innovation hubs or fabrication labs.
• Design flexible infrastructure that can adapt to new technologies—automation, robotics, renewable energy, and EV maintenance.
• Highlight programs through design storytelling—using architecture to celebrate skilled trades as vital, future-forward disciplines.

Well-designed facilities communicate value. They invite partnerships, attract funding, and help elevate the image of technical education.

Conclusion: Designing for a Changing Workforce

The surge in career and technical education is not just a change in curriculum—it’s a paradigm shift that is permanently changing the definition of learning. As colleges invest in advanced welding bays and EV-ready labs, the built environment itself becomes a teaching tool, signaling relevance and opportunity.

Architectural design and master planning play an essential role in this transformation—bridging the gap between education and employment, between community and campus. By designing facilities that prepare students for real-world work, we’re not just building spaces; we’re building futures.