By: Danny May
Jamai Blivin, founder and CEO of Innovate+Educate, called skilled labor jobs “the backbone of American manufacturing and the foundation of modern life. They combine STEM competencies with industrial skills and ingenuity and support nearly every industry. They are also the driving force behind successful careers and companies, thriving industries, and strong economies.”
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for skilled trade jobs in fields such as mechanical engineering, welding, machining, and electrical work is expected to increase faster than the 11 percent national average of all jobs over the next 10 years.
Meaning: demand for skilled labor is going up, but the supply of skilled laborers is decreasing as four year colleges and universities rise, leaving what is known as a “skills gap.”
Here in Owensboro, local businesses are noticing the gap as well. “Castlen Steel is experiencing the shortage of skilled labor in the work force. Training new tradesmen will be vitally important for meeting the demands for the growing economy,” said Matt Castlen, of Castlen Steel.
Blivin’s nonprofit implements research-based strategies to close the skills gap and bridge the opportunity divide.
Other organizations are promoting scholarship programs for vocational and technical students in their efforts to help close that gap. For example, Mike Rowe, from TV’s Dirty Jobs started the MikeroweWORKS Foundation in 2008 as a campaign designed to reinvigorate the skilled trades.
The MikeroweWORKS Foundation promotes hard work and focuses on supporting the specific skilled trades that help close the skills gap. The Foundation has also participated in awarding more than $2.5 million in scholarships to students of technical and trade schools around the country.
Rowe has made an impressive round of appearances on TV and radio promoting the need for skilled labor. The foundation’s Profoundly Disconnected® campaign challenges the belief that a four-year degree is the only path to success.
While 8.5 percent of recent bachelor degree graduates are unemployed, claims a recent Huffington Post article, trade school employment is in demand, almost impossible to outsource, and will never be usurped by technology. To meet that demand, salaries are going up.
That being the trend, today’s high school grads, as well as those who may feel stuck in an unfufilling field, should seriously consider skilled labor jobs as a legitimate, fulfilling career choice.
“Although commonly forgotten and neglected, technical and vocational schools should be invested in, taken seriously, and accepted as a legitimate path to continuing education, intellectual fulfillment, and a successful career,” said the Huffington Post author, Christi Sullivan.