Blue Collar and Proud of It: The All-In-One Resource for Finding Freedom, Financial Success, and Security Outside the Cubicle (29 page)

This chapter introduces you to some of the programs that are working for you and for the industries that are struggling to find workers. These initiatives are working to make the blue-collar landscape better. They are working to put pride back into blue-collar jobs. We can’t possibly tell you about all of them, but highlighting several can give you a sense of what is being done and where you may be able to find support or inspiration along the way.

Although vocational and technical education is hard to find in some schools and some towns have closed down their automotive classes or woodworking units, the career and technical education (CTE) cur-riculumis alive and well in this country. It needs to get better, that’s for sure, but as you’ll learn in this chapter, a lot of amazing programs and initiatives are promoting the trades and making a blue-collar career more accessible and attainable for people who are interested.

Half the battle is having people hear about these great careers. As Janet Bray has said, “You change perceptions with information.” Bray, the executive director of the American Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE), says her group is working hard to educate the public and parents about these opportunities. Bray says CTE classes around the country are already training students for jobs that don’t yet exist. In other words, this field is ahead of the curve, anticipating the future, and ultimately working in your favor. Yes, some schools have cut their classes, but other parts of the country see CTE as a necessary part of education and of the health of our workforce. I’m confident that we’ll start to see evenmore focus and attention given to these training programs.

There are currently 1, 200 community colleges offering CTE, and 400 that are purely technical in nature. Bray says that there are even waiting lists at some of the CTE schools around the country. “CTE is the solution to a lot of the problems in the education system, ” she says. “We’re working to meet the needs of every student, and every student has different needs.” This type of approach is going to benefit students and ultimately blue-collar industries. Although vocational student enrollment has dropped slightly (by about 2 percent) since the 1990s, there are still more than 4 million students in vocational or technical programs. Basically, half of all high school students are involved in vocational programs on some level, as are one-third of all college students.

Thanks to a major law called the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998, a substantial amount of annual funding fromthe federal government is supporting CTE curriculumaround the country. The Perkins Act helps to improve these technical courses and opportunities. The systemisn’t perfect, but headway is indeed being made.

Initiatives all over the country are working to connect people like you with the workforce and with the trades. Since we can’t name all of them, you’ll have to do some of the legwork on your own. Ask your guidance counselor for some direction, or call your nearby state university and community college, because these institutions are often affiliated with workforce initiatives. For example, the Center forWorkforce Development connected with Maricopa Community College in Phoenix, Arizona, runs a massive annual job expo and a skilled trades fair and continually offers courses and partnerships between the communities and the future workforce. The center connects businesses that are short on workers with the community colleges and training programs that can supply the necessary and trained individuals.

The state of Delaware has set up a unique fund to better assist employers and further train employees when necessary, particularly at times when skills shortages hit hardest. The fund assists Delaware businesses by offering customized training programs that will help to further train or retain their employees. And in New York—where the number of students taking vocational classes plummeted from 41 percent in 1992 to 25 percent in 2001—efforts are under way to build up those programs once again. At BurgardVocationalHigh School in Buffalo, for example, a $30million renovation was undertaken to add state-of-the-art equipment and facilities for CTE courses. Educators around the country are starting to see, not only the value in these classes, but also the need. We’re desperate for skilled tradespeople, and the programs are starting to respond to the call for trained workers.

Consider the following initiatives for training the future blue-collar workforce:

The Automotive Youth Educational Systems (AYES)
. We talked about this group in Chapter 3 for the training and certification they provide in auto mechanics. AYES is a nonprofit that works to connect automotive manufacturers with young men and women. This remarkable programstarted in 1996 and has beenmatching kids with cars ever since. AYES has partnered withmore than 350 schools across the country. To find an AYES center near you or to learn more about the program, go to
www.ayes.org
.

Careers in Trades
. This is themost comprehensive site for Canadian residents—including parents, teachers, and students—who are looking for more information about a blue-collar career. Careers in Trades offers resources to students seeking apprenticeships as well as businesses that are working to integrate the youngest members of the workforce into their operations. There are also informative and helpful employer profiles available. See
www.careersintrades.ca
.

Career Clusters
. Have you heard of career clusters? Developed by the U.S.Department of Education, these clusters of study are designed to help introduce each student to the field in which he or she is most interested. The following are the sixteen career clusters that have been adopted in schools around the country. They aren’t all perfectly paired, but the idea is to get students on the path toward what most interests them:

1. Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources

2. Architecture & Construction

3. Arts, A/V Technology & Communications

4. Business Management & Administration

5. Education & Training

6. Finance

7. Government & Public Administration

8. Health Science

9. Hospitality & Tourism

10. Human Services

11. Information Technology

12. Law, Public Safety, Corrections & Security

13. Manufacturing

14. Marketing, Sales & Service

15. Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics

16. Transportation, Distribution & Logistics

Traditional vocational education used to offer narrowly focused training. But that’s not what employers are looking for today, even in a tool-and-die factory or construction firm. As you know by now, employers are looking for more well-rounded individuals who have a good handle onmath and English. These career clusters were developed to assist students to more successfully transition from high school to postsecondary training or jobs. States currently have the option of adopting these clusters as a way of organizing curriculum at schools. The initiative is another example of trying to include all students in learning while broadening opportunities and topics so as to engage more individuals.

Home Builders Institute
. This is the workforce development branch of the National Association of Home Builders. The group works to advance education and training programs that will serve the needs of the housing industry. HBI provides training and job placement and promotes the building industry as an attractive career. There are also student-run HBI chapters around the country. More information can be found at
www.hbi.org
.

Independent Learning Centre
. Funded by the Canadian Ministry of Education, this initiative offers extensive courses and training in the skilled trades. It is an excellent resource for apprenticeships, and the CareerMATTERS program provides guidance and resources for post-secondary training and certifications. More can be found at
www.ilc.org
.

Learning for Life
. This incredible organization offers an opportunity for businesses to partner with students to give youth the opportunity to explore the skilled trades. One of the programs, dubbed Exploring, is a mini-introduction to what it’s like to be a carpenter, painter, plumber, or construction worker. This how-to initiative pairs interested youth with businesses and organizations to provide participants with early training in auto repair, farming, carpentry, forestry, plumbing, and more. The program helps to foster learning, partnerships, and skills development. Through Exploring’s website you can search for opportunities in your area. More information can be found at
www.learningforlife.org/exploring/skilledtrades.

National Center for the AmericanWorkforce
. This organization is the workforce arm of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and was created in January 2008 to specifically address the growing workforce shortages and shortages among skilled workers. The center is looking to expand its pool of potential workers, improve training, increase awareness of careers in manufacturing, and work with community colleges to enhance postsecondary education in the trades. More information can be found through NAM at
www.nam.org
.

RichmondBUILD
. This preapprenticeship program is based in Richmond, a violent and struggling city in northern California. Rich-mondBUILD is a ten-week program that offers participants an opportunity to learn a trade and includes training in safety, CPR, power tools, framing, drywall, basic electrical, roofing, scaffolding, basic plumbing, andmore. Some of the participants have struggled to hold a job or have been involved with violence in the past. Others are just interested in learning a new trade. The program even has its own solar component, which trains participants in solar installation. Run by the city of Richmond, the program started in May 2007, and since then the folks at RichmondBUILD estimate that they have a 90 percent placement rate with an average hourly wage of $18.33.

Skills2Compete
. This initiative works to combat the notion that the only way to succeed is through college, while ensuring that our country’s workforce is prepared and trained for job demands. Skills2Com-pete recognizes that today’s blue-collar workforce must be highly trained to succeed. The initiative works to ensure that postsecondary training is available and that individuals have access to the necessary skills. More information can be found at
www.skills2compete.org
.

SkillsUSA
. This national partnership between teachers and students (in high school and college) works to enhance preparation for careers in technical, skilled, and service occupations. The business community supportsmany of the programs, which prepare students for entering the workforce with the beginning knowledge, understanding, and skills required to succeed. More than 300, 000 students join SkillsUSA each year. For more information, check out
www.skillsusa.org
.

Tradability.ca
. A collaboration between the community and Ontario’s government, Tradability.ca offers an extensive network of resources including apprenticeships and information about the skilled trades, options that are available, detailed job descriptions, and training requirements. More information can be found at Tradability.ca.

The Workforce Alliance (TWA)
. This national coalition of community organizations, colleges, unions, and businesses advocates for policies and practices that invest in the skills of the American workforce. TWA works to improve job training, expand access to such training, and encourage local initiatives. TWA has been focused on improving the skilled workforce to meet the demands of the twenty-first century, while lobbying Congress and providing improved resources to individuals. To learn more, check out
www.Workforcealliance.org
.

Plenty more great organizations, programs, and initiatives are out there, but hopefully this gives you a sense of the kind of work that is happening. It’s important to find out what is happening in your region of the country, too. Your public library, high school library, guidance counselor, and area trade associations are good places to find information. Even your local chamber of commerce may be able to direct you to some programs or organizations. People are generally excited to link youth with opportunities, so don’t be afraid to ask. You have to put in some work if you expect to get something out of this. Thanks to these organizations and others, I think the future truly looks promising.