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2010-08-26 Home Front: Politix

Not enough skilled workers a problem for recovering economy

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Posted by gorb 2010-08-26 12:27|| || Front Page|| [11131 views ] Top

#1 Bring back vocational ed. Far too many HS dropouts with zero skills, and college dropouts without any marketable skills, and far too many billions $$$$ spent by society to produce both of these outcomes.

Posted by lex 2010-08-26 13:07|| 2010-08-26 13:07|| Front Page Top

#2 You don't know how many times I've thought of going back to diving/pile driving.
I felt much, much more appreciated and indispensable as a welder or pile buck or diver than I ever have as a civil engineer.
There are lifestyle advantages to being a professional, but you are not immune to the classic scourges like unemployment. That's where I am now.

Posted by bigjim-CA 2010-08-26 13:37|| 2010-08-26 13:37|| Front Page Top

#3 From my experience plenty of tradespeople would be available if they stopped drug testing.

Posted by BrerRabbit 2010-08-26 13:52|| 2010-08-26 13:52|| Front Page Top

#4 ..far too many billions $$$$ spent by society to produce both of these outcomes.

Driven by the professional education establishment, subsidized to an ever greater extent by the national government controlled by the party kept in power by same said people.

Posted by Procopius2k 2010-08-26 14:03|| 2010-08-26 14:03|| Front Page Top

#5 Given the 'higher education' bubble out there, particularly for less useful occupations like law, gender studies, law, chicano studies, law, comparative studies, law, political science and law, it would be very helpful to young people indeed to point out the various skilled trades that allow a person a good living and time to pursue their personal happiness.

In the current day, work is supposed to make you happy. In my father's generation, work was something you did so that you had the money to do other things that made you happy.

Posted by Steve White 2010-08-26 14:35|| 2010-08-26 14:35|| Front Page Top

#6 The trades won't be attractive if there's constant downward pressure on wages due to the 10:1 ratio of Chinese-based to US-based employment adhered to by US companies in IT hardware and and so many other sectors

Posted by lex 2010-08-26 15:45|| 2010-08-26 15:45|| Front Page Top

#7 Sissies can weld too!

Posted by Besoeker 2010-08-26 17:41|| 2010-08-26 17:41|| Front Page Top

#8 My team had a recent analyst job opening. Of the numerous applicants; 4 people were invited to apply. All 4 failed the first in a series of tests. 3 had Masters degrees and one had a PHD.

Posted by airandee 2010-08-26 17:43|| 2010-08-26 17:43|| Front Page Top

#9 Makes a lot more sense than spending five years and $100,000 for a <whatever> Studies degree.

Posted by DMFD 2010-08-26 19:25|| 2010-08-26 19:25|| Front Page Top

#10 All 4 failed the first in a series of tests. 3 had Masters degrees and one had a PHD.

Yup, anybody else remember BS More of the same and Piled higher and deeper?

By the way I'm a Trade school Graduate, (Machinist, Which included Welding Gas and stick) and I've had a fair income all my career.
Granted I often had to switch Trades often, I'm a Certified Master Mechanic as well.

You'd be surprised at the overlap between those two.

Can't find a well paying Mechanics Job, the industry is crying for Machinists, Machine work peters out, Mechanics are in demand, I very rarely went unemployed for two months at a time.

and as an aside I've been privileged to see, make or run things most folk never heard of, such as water pumps big enough to walk through without stooping (Dredges and the pumps needed) aircraft engines (Made from castings and forgings to testing and shipping, etc.

It's been fun.

Posted by Redneck Jim 2010-08-26 20:09|| 2010-08-26 20:09|| Front Page Top

#11 Jim, can you teach HS aged kids?

The schools need you. If the public schools won't pay, then I wonder if you couldn't bootstrap your own vocational ed business-- start with some how-to videos on YouTube, create your own channel, link to an email alias where you can capture inquiries/sales "leads"...

Just a thought. It's definitely possible to bootstrap such a business these days, and online/private education is booming.

Posted by lex 2010-08-26 20:46|| 2010-08-26 20:46|| Front Page Top

#12 Robert Webb should turn in his testicles since he's not using them anymore.

Posted by badanov 2010-08-26 21:02|| http://www.freefirezone.org 2010-08-26 21:02|| Front Page Top

#13 Lex, that's somewhat of a problem, I'm now somewhat handicapped and cannot stand more than a few minutes at a time.
There's a major glitch in your video idea, training needs to be "Hands On' or it's ineffective, me talking to camera would be boring in the extreme, me standing by a kid and showing him how to strike an arc, or determine just what cutting speed a milling machine needs to turn works far better.

But I can't.

Posted by Redneck Jim 2010-08-26 23:03|| 2010-08-26 23:03|| Front Page Top

23:07 Caesar Thrung3492
23:03 Redneck Jim
22:59 HighEfficiency
22:53 49 Pan
22:38 tu3031
22:30 tu3031
22:27 No I am The Other Beldar
22:26 badanov
22:14 Skidmark
22:08 KBK
22:05 Canuckistan sniper
21:56 rjschwarz
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21:33 Rhodesiafever
21:02 badanov
20:46 lex
20:38 HighEfficiency
20:18 Thavilet Lumumba1426
20:09 Redneck Jim
20:04 Swanimote
19:49 Spearong Prince of the Bunions9034
19:48 NoMoreBS
19:47 Mike Hunt