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L
ate spring is the season for high school and college graduations. It is a
time of transition for millions of young people and a time of celebration
and hope and promise. Yet the lingering effects of the Great Recession,
notably the difficult jobs environment in an economy increasingly beset by
global competition, is giving pause to the ambitions of young people. This
persistent dilemma ought to engender serious thinking about whether our
society and culture are serving students well by encouraging and steering all of
them to four year college education tracks.
One disturbing data point, perhaps symbolized by the college-educated
baristas still living at home, is that only about 27 percent of new jobs forecast
by the Labor Department to be generated in the next ten years will require a
college degree. A related point, although experts disagree on the exact number,
is that hundreds of thousands of good “mid-level” jobs, well-paying and with
good benefits, go unfilled due to lack of qualified applicants. The problem
is particularly acute for manufacturing, although construction, transportation,
health care, information technology, and other sectors’ experience the same
problem to various degrees. In spite of the fact that women account for an
increasingly higher percentage of the workforce than men, they are severely
underrepresented in the mid-level, skilled occupations which traditionally have
been filled by men without college education. It is disturbing to note that, in the
prime ages of 25-54, the proportion of men actually in the workforce is at an
historic low, around 81 percent, and trending lower. Almost one in five men in
this age cohort is unemployed, on disability, or has given up looking for work.
These issues point to a need to rethink our drive to channel all young people
toward four year colleges. The problem lies in the fact that our culture does not
value or promote the skills needed for some of these jobs: mechanics, welders,
pipefitters, machinists, and operators of computer controlled machines. These
are the occupations with the largest labor shortfalls in today’s manufacturing
economy which is experiencing a moderate to healthy resurgence. Parents
don’t encourage their children to pursue such career paths, and educators
feel bound to steer all their students towards the “academic” track. Our culture
no longer celebrates working with the physical environment, solving practical
problems like fixing an engine or a computer glitch or laying a perfect brick wall.
This cultural mindset has resulted in manufacturing firms consistently reporting
that their highest obstacle to success is finding skilled labor.
By Thomas J. Duesterberg
Should We Rethink Our
“College for All” Culture?
> “only about 27 percent of new jobs
forecast by the Labor Department to
be generated in the next ten years
will require a college degree”
