>>> MORE AND MORE GEN ZERS ARE SAYING NO TO UNIVERSITIES AND SAYING YES TO TRADES LIKE WELDING AND PLUMBING. A NEW ARTICLE EXPLORED THE REASON BEHIND THE MOVE TO BECOME THE QUOTE, UNQUOTE, TOOL BELT GENERATION AND HOW THEY CAN BE THE SOLUTION TO THE SHORTAGE OF SKILLED WORKERS IN THE UNITED STATES. THE AUTHOR JOINS US NOW TO TALK ABOUT IT. THIS IS FASCINATING. WE'VE HEARD, IT'S NOT NEW. THERE HAVE BEEN SPIKES WHEN THIS HAS BECOME A THING. BUT I'M CURIOUS, WHAT IS IT ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR POINT IN TIME THAT HAS THESE YOUNG PEOPLE LOOKING MORE AND MORE VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS AND TRADES. WHAT ARE THE JOBS THAT ARE THE MOST POPULAR? >> YEAH. SO FIRST OF ALL, COLLEGE IS EXPENSIVE. IT HAS BEEN GETTING MORE EXPENSIVE, AND FOR GENERATIONS, WE HAVE HAD THIS IDEA OF COLLEGE FOR ALL THAT HAS REALLY BEEN SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, WE PUSHED ON A LOT OF STUDENTS TO THINK YOU HAVE TO GO TO COLLEGE AND IF YOU DON'T, THERE'S NO REALLY ALTERNATE PATH TO SUCCESS. AT THE SAME TIME, WE ARE LIVING IN A REALLY UNCERTAIN WORLD WITH THE RISE OF AI, WITH A TOUGH JOB MARKET OUT THERE FOR A LOT OF COLLEGE GRADS. WE SEE A LOT OF EMPLOYERS DO THINGS LIKE DROP THEIR EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS AS WE FACE SERVICE SKILL MATCHES IN THIS COUNTRY. FIGURES LIKE, FOR EXAMPLE, THERE WAS A RECENT STUDY OUT BY BURNING GLASS INSTITUTE AND THE FOUNDATION, WHICH FOUND ACTUALLY THAT AMONG COLLEGE GRADUATES, HALF OF THEM ARE ACTUALLY WORKING IN JOBS WHERE BACHELOR'S DEGREES AREN'T EVEN NEEDED AND SO NOT SURPRISINGLY, ALL THAT IS CONSPIRING TO CREATE A FEELING OF SKEPTICISM. DO I NEED TO GO TO A FOUR-YEAR COLLEGE TO BE SUCCESSFUL? IS IT THE ONLY PATH? ARE THERE ALTERNATE PATHS OUT THERE? AND, SO IF YOU LOOK AT SOME OF THE FIGURES, AT A MACRO LEVEL, WE ARE TALKING ABOUT LAST YEAR, A 16% JUMP ACTUALLY IN ENROLLMENT IN VOCATIONAL FOCUSED COMMUNITY COLLEGES. AND THAT'S THE HIGHEST, IF YOU LOOK AT OVERALL ENROLLMENT. IT'S AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL SINCE THE NATIONAL STUDENT CLEARINGHOUSE STARTED TRACKING THIS DATA IN 2018. >> WOW. THIS IS FASCINATING. GO AHEAD. >> I WAS GOING TO SAY, YOU ASKED ABOUT WHAT PROGRAMS ARE THE MOST POPULAR. IF YOU BREAK IT DOWN, YOU CAN SEE, FOR EXAMPLE, WITH CONSTRUCTION TRADES, THAT IS ONE AREA THAT HAS SEEN A PRETTY STRIKING JUMP SINCE IN THAT TIME PERIOD SINCE 2018. OF AROUND 23%. VEHICLE MAINTENANCE, AND HBAC, VEHICLE MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR AND INSTALL AND ALL THAT. IT HAS GONE UP BY 7%. SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE MORE POPULAR AREAS. >> WE'RE BOTH CHILDREN OF IMMIGRANTS, RIGHT? AND I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO ARE CHILDREN OF IMMIGRANTS EXPERIENCE THIS THING WHERE YOU KNOW, YOUR PARENTS ARE LIKE, YOU HAVE TO BE A DOCTOR, A LAWYER, YOU KNOW, IT HAS TO BE THIS. AND I REMEMBER ARGUING WITH MY MOM AND SAYING, WELL MAYBE I DON'T WANT TO GO TO COLLEGE. MAYBE I WANT TO TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT. IT COULD NOT ACCEPT THAT. >> IT WAS BASICALLY, IF YOU WANT TO BE A WELDER, YOU CAN DO THAT AFTER YOU GO TO COLLEGE. >> BASICALLY. BASICALLY. BUT I'M CURIOUS NOW, IF YOU KNOW, THE VIEWS ARE CHANGING WHEN PEOPLE THINK ABOUT THE TRADES. WHEN THEY THINK ABOUT PLUMBING, WELDING, ELECTRICAL JOBS. WHAT ARE THE IMPRESSIONS THAT PEOPLE HAVE? >> THAT'S A REALLY GOOD QUESTION. 100%. THAT STIGMA STILL EXISTS, I WOULD SAY. IF YOU THINK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE LIVING IN A SOCIETY WHERE FOR GENERATIONS, WE HAVE THAT SUNSET. COLLEGE IS THE OPTIMAL, RIGHT? ANYTHING OTHER THAN THAT IS LESS THAN. AND NOT SURPRISING, THAT DOES SHOW UP, STILL, WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ATTITUDES AMONG YOUNGER WORKERS, ETCETERA. IF YOU LOOK AT SURVEY DATA, YOU CAN SEE THAT THE STRONG MAJORITY OF GEN-Z WOULD BE INTERESTED IN VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS OFFERING PAID ON THE JOB TRAINING, WHICH IS A LOT OF HOW YOU GET INTO THE SKILLED TRADES. AT THE SAME TIME, YOU SEE AROUND 3/4 OF THEM ALSO SAYING THERE IS A STIGMA ASSOCIATED WITH GOING TO TRADE SCHOOL VERSUS A FOUR-YEAR PATH. THAT SAID, I WOULD SAY THAT THE STIGMA IS CHANGING WHEN YOU SPEAK TO HIGH SCHOOL COUNSELORS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. THEY WILL TELL YOU THAT FOR YEARS, SHOP CLASS, YOU KNOW, THE IDEA OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION HAS BEEN PERCEIVED FOR KIDS WHO ARE TROUBLEMAKERS OR NOT ACADEMICALLY ON TRACK AND CAN'T HACK IT, ETCETERA. BUT THERE HAS ALSO BEEN AT THE SAME TIME RISING NEW TECHNOLOGIES, WHETHER IT'S IN ROBOTICS, OR NEW MACHINE TOOL TECHNOLOGIES, THAT HAVE COME ONLINE THAT ARE IN MANY CASES HELPING CHANGE THIS IMPRESSION OF SOME OF THESE SKILLED TRADES. >> SO, REAL QUICK BEFORE WE GO, THIS MAY BE AN UNPOPULAR SORT OF THOUGHT PROCESS, BUT IT'S ALSO THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF COLLEGES IN THIS COUNTRY. ALL COLLEGES ARE EQUAL. THAT IS SOMETHING THAT I READ ABOUT, WE HAVE THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF UNIVERSITIES NOW. SO THEY MAY NOT BE THE CHOICE FOR A LOT OF YOUNG PEOPLE. THIS IS A FASCINATING DISCUSSION THAT WE HAVE TO LEAVE IT THERE. THANK YOU
