Fall Into the Gap

[stewstewstewdio.livejournal.com]

A winner is someone who recognizes his God-given talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills, and uses these skills to accomplish his goals. - Larry Bird

When I was training for computer networking skills, I also became A+ certified in computer maintenance and repair. During the course of the classes, several people dropped out. This was because they discovered how low the compensation was for trained computer technicians and felt that it wasn’t worth pursuing.

Manufacturing companies are complaining that they are having a difficult time finding people that can match the technical skills and training they need to run the machinery. At first glance, this would seem to be a golden opportunity for the unemployed to retrain into these skills so they can become employable again.

Throughout the campaign, President Obama lamented the so-called skills gap and referenced a study claiming that nearly 80 percent of manufacturers have jobs they can’t fill. Mitt Romney made similar claims. The National Association of Manufacturers estimates that there are roughly 600,000 jobs available for whoever has the right set of advanced skills.

The reasons cited for losing so many manufacturing jobs include a classic one (automation) and a more current one (outsourcing) and the existing problem (training):

Nearly six million factory jobs, almost a third of the entire manufacturing industry, have disappeared since 2000. And while many of these jobs were lost to competition with low-wage countries, even more vanished because of computer-driven machinery that can do the work of 10, or in some cases, 100 workers. Those jobs are not coming back, but many believe that the industry’s future (and, to some extent, the future of the American economy) lies in training a new generation for highly skilled manufacturing jobs — the ones that require people who know how to run the computer that runs the machine.

The article in the New York Times describes the dilemma that these job prospects face. Union roles are being reduced and starting pay for many of these jobs start at about $10 per hour. If the employee gets an associate’s degree, this amount can go up to $15 per hour and possibly up to $18 per hour after several years of good service.

This is hardly a career path for someone who would want to maintain a middle class lifestyle and support a family. It especially seems so when pursuit of a career at McDonalds is almost as financially attractive as seeking a technical specialization that would have to be kept up to date. And this is also a far cry from the type of career path that is going to approach closing the income gap that is widening in America.

It looks as if the solution to this problem would be an old tried and true one. Put the onus on the companies to do training on the job to get current employees or new employees up to speed on these machines in manufacturing. Yet, this solution has become impractical as well. Per the article:

This is partly because advanced manufacturing is really complicated. Running these machines requires a basic understanding of metallurgy, physics, chemistry, pneumatics, electrical wiring and computer code. It also requires a worker with the ability to figure out what’s going on when the machine isn’t working properly. And aspiring workers often need to spend a considerable amount of time and money taking classes like Goldenberg’s to even be considered. Every one of Goldenberg’s students, he says, will probably have a job for as long as he or she wants one.

The income gap isn’t the only problem in this case. Once again, the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) gap appears to be much to blame for America falling behind and losing our ability to remain competitive internationally in manufacturing. With all the austerity measures being proposed to resolve our national debt, hijacking education would be just another step in gutting the value of our American society.

Comments

[anfalicious.livejournal.com]

Separate track education led to massive social inequities. I agree with what you're saying, that there needs to be technical options that are valued in schools, but these need to be taught alongside academic skills in the same institution. A student who wants to be an electrician still needs the opportunity to study literature if they so desire or they will find themselves cut out of a certain class of social capital.

Sociologist Pierre Bourdieu has written heaps on this if you're interested (a former prof of mine Richard Teese has some more accessible papers as well).

[harry-beast.livejournal.com]

Without a literature degrees, electricians would feel intellectually outclassed by the English and philosophy majors serving them coffee at Starbucks. Heck, they might not even drink Startbucks coffee.

[anfalicious.livejournal.com]

Yes, because I was talking about degrees *facepalm*

It might be art, it might be media studies, it might be sport. The point is that technical schools have a tendency to teach only job skills, leading to a less fulfilled human being with less ability to operate in the world.

[mutive.livejournal.com]

To be fair, too, your engineers probably *are* going to want to take your technical classes.

So if they're all offered (and required), no one necessarily loses out.

I really, really wish my high school had offered metal working and carpentry classes. It's not a good thing to start your first job and be like, "What is this?" when you face down a hammer.

[sophia-sadek.livejournal.com]

I had an art teacher who gave me grief for taking metal shop rather than art. Shop classes can actually spur an interest in engineering for someone who might otherwise pursue a less practical career.

[mutive.livejournal.com]

Very true. They're really useful for a lot more than just trade skills.

[sophia-sadek.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the pointer. I'll look up Bordieu. Would the following apply: "The inheritors : French students and their relation to culture," "Homo academicus," or "The state nobility : elite schools in the field of power?"

I do not deny that educational tracks can lead to inequities. There are also cases where students become tracked into an under-performing curriculum at an early age due to teacher prejudice and inadequate training.