In the Wall Street Journal, Josh Mandel argues persuasively for the virtues of shop class. A sample:
A good trade to consider: welding. I recently visited Pioneer Pipe in the Utica and Marcellus shale area of Ohio and learned that last year the company paid 60 of its welders more than $150,000 and two of its welders over $200,000. The owner, Dave Archer, said he has had to turn down orders because he can't find enough skilled welders.According to the 2011 Skills Gap Survey by the Manufacturing Institute, about 600,000 manufacturing jobs are unfilled nationally because employers can't find qualified workers. To help produce a new generation of welders, pipe-fitters, electricians, carpenters, machinists and other skilled tradesmen, high schools should introduce students to the pleasure and pride they can take in making and building things in shop class.
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ed gleason
3 years 8 months ago
With the US roads, bridges and all infrastucture seriously in disrepair we need more skilled people. Instead of college students with outrageous tuition debts [with Jesuit schools charging $40k a year tuition and extra if you want to eat and sleep indoors. ].
But I think we first need to overcome the snob factor. Did you ever hear "my son is a management trainee at McDonalds!] and getting $12.50 an hour? In San Francisco alone we are looking for about 100,000 new bathrooms in its 100 year old buildings and there is money to pay for it too. .
