A successful future used to require a minimum of four years of college. Not anymore. In fact, current statistics show that 53% of college graduates are either unemployed or underemployed. The Secretary of Education, William Bennett, said that many four year colleges may not be worth the money. Whether a person is college bound or not, the goal is the same: to get the proper training to allow an individual to pursue their path to a successful future.
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           In viewing three separate careers, teaching, law enforcement and a service industry professional, such as a plumber, hvac technician or electrician, and assuming standard pay raises through each position, a service industry professional earns the highest income after five years on the job. Surprised? According to ScholarshipWorkshop.com, the average cost of four years of in-state college tuition is over $120,000. Investment in a typical technical or vocational college is under $30,000. The difference can be even greater when you consider only 54% of first year college students graduate within six years.
           So five years after finishing high school, the service industry professional is debt free and has a set of job skills that can take him/her anywhere in the country. The trades have experienced labor shortages for the past twenty years due to four year colleges and universities lobbying Congress and securing their funds long ago. Over those decades, the vocational and trade schools have all but disappeared across the nation. Where the trades were aspired to in the 1940s – 1970s, today they are not even considered. Due to upcoming mass retirements of the Baby Boomer generation, the trades will experience openings of up to 780,000 jobs within the next 6-10 years with no replacements.
           Imagine living in the northern half of our country where winters are long and cold. Imagine having no heat and having to wait a week for a hvac technician. How about living in the South through extreme heat with no air conditioning? Or imagine having a backed up sewer with no plumbers available for two weeks. Our nation is dependent upon the health, safety and welfare of our homes to be protected by skilled trades people. What separates the U.S. as a first world nation from third world nations? Clean drinking water and sanitation.
           Our legislators are only beginning to realize the looming crisis in our country if something is not done to promote and recruit qualified individuals into the trades of plumbing, heating and electrical. As we all know, the turbines of government are very slow moving and not always effective. We need to have community-based, grassroots conversations and participation with the next generations in promoting the necessity, job security and tremendous financial potential of entering the trades. Currently, only 6% of high school students consider careers in these industries, this must change if we want to stave off a future national crisis due to a shortage of skilled professionals.
           There is momentum happening to promote these professions through an organization called the Legacy Foundation. One initiative of theirs is http://www.explorethetrades.org/. I encourage you to check out this site and watch their video. Share it with your children or grandchildren who will one day be considering a career. Another initiative is http://www.troopstotrades.com/ which recruits returning veterans into the trades by providing training grants and scholarships in plumbing, heating and electrical. These initiatives are gaining steam but have a long way to go in reaching a large enough audience in the country to really start making effective change. For more information, or if you would like to get involved, or receive information, please go to http://nexstarfoundation.org/.
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Written By: Julie Wieman
Owner at MacGregor Plumbing & Heating