Posted on 06/29/2010 5:10:15 PM PDT by Kaslin
When did "blue collar" become a dirty word in America? Right about the same time America gave up its position as the world's producer and instead became the world's most conspicuous consumer.
That's not to bash free enterprise; we need to purchase and consume. But this cultural shift has created an "industrial tsunami" that threatens our free enterprise system.
America faces a crisis of epic proportions. The U.S. Department of Labor forecasts that by 2012, there will be a shortfall of nearly 3 million skilled worker positions in America. The average age of skilled workers in many trades is 54-56 years old, and as this veteran group retires, there are not enough trained workers to replace them. Today's shortage sharply reduces the growth of U.S. gross domestic product — certainly not a help in the current economy.
As I've traveled the nation and met with business owners, I hear the same story. Employers are desperate for skilled workers to fill essential jobs. Many say privately that their companies may have to close or move operations to another country because of this shortage — despite the offer of good pay and benefits. We're experiencing the loss of the once-vaunted production edge that America enjoyed.
(Excerpt) Read more at investors.com ...
We expect every student to pursue college after high school. And it just shouldn't be this way. For many young people, it's a waste of time and money.
When I was in high school back in the 80s we had a community vocational school or "votech"as it was called that taught careers in everything from plumbing, carpentry, welding, auto-mechanics and so on. Counselors and teachers could identify students that probably wouldn't be college-bound after high school and point them in this direction. They'd spend the morning at the regular high school and then they'd go spend the rest of the day at votech. At the end of their senior year, they'd graduate with an actual skill. Many of these students went on to make serious money.
Gradually, the district did away with this program. For whatever reason, they decided that all students should be prepped for college --whether they had any intentions of going or not.
“The problem is most employers do not want to train people, so they rather hire professional people from foreign countries without realizing that these people went through training themselves.”
Word.
I have a friend who is an excellent mechanic. He’s been in the business for 15 years. He wants to get his certification, but his employer won’t sign the forms for his apprenticeship.
I’ve even offered to pay for his tuition so he can blast through his levels, but the whole process is held up by the one signature.
Has he considered getting into some kind of specialized welding that will make his skills even more valuable? I was thinking of something like marine welding that might require him to work with unusual conditions or on unusual types of equipment.
A friend of mine installs, maintains and repairs air conditioners and heaters and he makes between $70 to $100k/year depending on how hard he feels like working-last year he took three months off because he just didn’t feel like working. His house, truck, tools are all paid off, he carries no credit cards and had plenty saved up to be able to sit around the house and take a couple trips.
My nephew is a certified BMW mechanic who makes over $70k a year. he has a master’s degree in Archaeology. He took no loans out to get it-he funded his college education by working fighting wildfires for the NPS/BLM/USFS, cataloging and preserving artifacts during the summer and as a bartender during the school year. He found out very soon after graduating that the chances of maintaining steady employment and income as an Archeologist is problematic (even those with PhD’s can’t find steady work in the field) so he went back to school and learned how to be an automobile and motorcycle mechanic.
Not yet. That is part of what we hope he gains at school. He would like to try out Alaska, so I see him going into the pipeline or oil well industry, but who knows? By attending this school he will be able to try out all variation of welding and see what fits best.
As one of these highly skilled journeyman, I have found that many companies need my skills, but its much cheaper to just send the work to China.
I will go you one better. Instead of 4 years of high school I suggest 2 years at which time the students all decide if they are going to go to college or enter trade school. Firing the Unions and channeling some of the money saved from this move into trade schools for those students who want to become carpenters, welders, mechanics etc. The college bound would continue their second 2 years of HS.
I would think the sissification of American males has something to do with it too. They’d rather be perpetual college students or corporate eunechs than get dirty and work with their hands.
Plus to be a welder or a crane operator you have to join a UNION, and I’d rather eat my own turds and drink my own piss than join a stinking union.
Good idea. Only, let the trade schools be privatized.
The three states of OK., La and Tex. that you have not been in have plenty of non union welders and other crafts.
Yeah? I’m in NJ, so I’m a little jaded about unions, I guess. Can’t stand unions. Hate em with a passion.
Ok, and while we are at it, privatize the public schools also. Charter Schools in CA have a higher graduation rate than the public schools. While they are still publicly funded, they are not bound by the same restrictions as the public schools.
Fine with me.
True. There is a lot to that, and for some reason, Americans seem to look down on people who work with their hands or pursue a trade. I have no idea why. It takes intelligence and skill to be successful in most trades - more than it does to sleep through freshmen college classes.
This is true. I have never understood why companies are not willing to do this, either. Part of it could be the burdens placed on businesses by govenment regulations. It’s expensive to hire people and unions make things even more difficult.
Welding wages have been gutted by low wage illegals, just like all of the construction industry, and half a dozen other industries.
And we are going to pay the price in about 10-20 years when all of the McMansions built by cheap labor start falling apart and have to be torn down.
Profits regardless of consequences.
It will take decades before we regain our former prowess in manufacturing. "Rome" wasn't built in a day.
Nam Vet
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.