Technical School Isn’t a Consolation Prize
I have witnessed a widening technical skills gap in my 16 years in the automobile industry. Meanwhile, far too many millennials cannot find jobs in their chosen fields, and owe student loans that they cannot afford to repay.
It does not have to be this way. Thousands of technical and vocational jobs are going unfilled. These problems with the American economy point to a misallocation of capital—specifically, millennials’ human capital.
Over the past few decades, societal perceptions of what true success entails have developed into a belief that for young people to be professionally and economically successful, they must have a four-year college degree. But learning a technical skill at a two-year institution costs less. Students can develop skills to gain immediate employment in a wide range of lucrative professions such as welders, electricians, plumbers and auto technicians, among others. Moreover, the prospect for immediate employment in these industries will continue because many trades have an aging workforce and younger workers will be necessary as older workers retire.
According to a study by the Manpower Group, the most difficult workers to find are those with technical trade skills prevalent in the manufacturing and construction industries. Nationwide, 53 percent of skilled workers are over 45 years old. In some states this figure is over 60 percent.
Societal and cultural perceptions about technical skills have also influenced education policy. Budgets in high school districts have been skewed to prepare students for four-year colleges instead of for vocational and technical skill training. Auto repair programs in many districts have been completely eliminated, though this is due in part to the costs associated with expensive test equipment now involved in car diagnoses. Federal policies create incentives for schools to focus on subjects such as math and science, and reduce funding for vocational courses. This is puzzling policy, as a fully-certified master auto technician can earn as much or more than a person which has a traditional four-year college degree.
The Bureau of labor Statistics projected that the demand for automotive technicians would grow 17 percent from 2010 to 2020, adding 124,000 jobs. Meanwhile, many service managers are concerned that, because of diverted funding, some of the remaining vocational programs turn out a generation of auto mechanics whose skills fail to keep pace with the cars they are expected to fix.
It may seem that young people are losing enthusiasm in driving and automobiles, and thus in pursuing careers working on them. In 1980, about 87 percent of 19 year-olds had a driver’s license. By 2010, only about 70 percent did. However, car repair has become much more high-tech, to the point where it is common to use programs on hand-held electronic devices and laptops to diagnose and fix software related issues. In many cases, the traditional “turn of a wrench” is not required to fix an automobile problem. This transition may reignite young people’s interest in working as auto technicians.
Closing the technical skills gap should begin with a revitalized effort to increase trade school programs and to inform high school students about the lucrative career prospects that come from learning and mastering such skills. It makes no sense to treat vocational training as a consolation prize for those who do not go to a traditional four-year college. Not only can federal and state policies help in this regard, they can also increase incentives such as tax credits to small businesses and specific industries that commit to job training or apprenticeship programs. Some programs could take the form of public-private initiatives. Federal and state governments would save on teaching tools by giving incentives to private organizations. Students could also be exposed to up-to-date technology, techniques, and real-world experiences. A pool of new workers would become available for these growing industries. Companies such as Ford and General Motors already offer similar programs.
Some student loans for traditional college courses could instead be diverted to fund or offer lower-cost loans to students learning technical trades. This would simultaneously slow the increase in outstanding federal student loans, which now stand at over $1 trillion, while closing the technical skills gap and increasing the prospects of immediate employment for many young people.
In addition to the widening skills gap that I have witnessed in the automobile industry, I have also noticed that some of our most successful customers learned a technical trade skill early in life. They now operate thriving construction businesses, or specialize in technical repair. Many earn more than their friends with PhDs, and their success serves as a reminder that our school guidance counselors grossly underestimate the value of technical skills.