一种t the start of my son’s junior year in high school, I tagged along with him to meet with his school career counselor to discuss post-graduation plans. After the initial hellos, the first question out of the counselor’s mouth was, “So, what college are you thinking of?” My son sat there looking stunned.

尽管他已经从th听过这个问题e adults in his life, each time was painful. His only reply was, “I don’t know yet.”

That was two years ago. At the time, I remember being frustrated with Josh’s indecision: He has to go to college in order to get a good job. At least that was my mindset back then.

I now realize that college is not for everyone. There are many vocational opportunities out there for young adults. However, our schools and society do not seem to encourage this path. As this next generation of children begins to reach adulthood, the push to get a four-year college degree is seen as the only path to career success. Any other direction is frowned upon.

With so much of our youth heading off to college, a huge void has opened and is growing in the pool of craft labor. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are currently about 600,000 vacancies in the construction industry. By 2028, that number is expected to grow to 704,000. Not only are young students not seeking futures in the trades, the older generation of skilled workers is retiring or dying.

施工工作需要逃避其简单的形象，即戴着锤子戴着帽子的男人。是的，我们仍然需要木匠，水管工，电工和焊工。所有人都需要知道如何使用其工具。但是，随着综合建筑技术的快速增长，更多的现代机会正在开放。许多涉及数字工具箱以及学习管理工作和监督他人的机会。然而，典型的高中并不鼓励高中毕业生走这条职业道路。

为什么？我相信父母和老师在蓝领工作中附有污名。我参加了许多烧烤，成年人在斯坦福大学或南加州大学的孩子们吹嘘自己的孩子。当您谈论您的儿子，焊工时，这会让父母感到失败。在我所在的加利福尼亚，学校根据考试成绩获得资金。商店计划已经变得无关紧要。学校的优先事项牢固地专注于大学准备和标准化考试成功。职业课程可靠。

无聊的罢工

I have three kids. My first two enjoyed high school, earned good grades and decided to go to college. But my third kid, Josh, was just bored in his general education classes, and his grades suffered.

“为什么我需要学习植物细胞的工作原理？”他在讨论学术研究及其价​​值的讨论中问我。新利luck我无法回答。

在对学校辅导员的访问失败之后，乔什发现了一些东西：金属商店。他喜欢用双手和工具工作，而且蓬勃发展。随着该课程和其他人为他提供了坚实的方向，他的其他成绩得到了改善。

Now I see that his path to a great-paying, satisfying job will not only be shorter than that of a typical college graduate. It will be virtually debt free. Good thing for me, too, because our family had spent a lot paying for Josh’s older sister’s out-of-town state college. Eventually, we decided to bring her back home.

In comparison, the cost of a trade school could only be a few thousand dollars for the entire program. Josh’s junior college, from which he will emerge in two years with an associate degree in welding and no debt, has a program that pays for his first two years of tuition. And he was lucky. His high school was one of the few that offered any type of vocational classes. Through this training, Josh was able to study CAD engineering, machine controls and vehicle fabrication, in addition to welding.

那么，我们如何在建筑工艺工作中填补60万个职位空缺呢？随着大学成本的上升和优质的白领工作数量的减少，许多年轻人将开始研究这些行业。但是到目前为止，我们已经让不希望上典型大学或大学的高中毕业生失败了。让我们将商店课带回高中，并减轻同伴的压力，以进行典型的大学教育。对于许多年轻人及其家人来说，这是最好的事情。

Michael Zinniger is a content writer forGearflow.com， 一个onlineconstruction equipment and parts marketplace. He can be reached at 760-525-0138.

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