Commenting on Mr. Croce’s RGJ article of 2/10/10 on: Taxes and “High Education”
According to Mr. Croce, http://www.rgj.com/article/20100210/OPED04/2100419It seems that one must hold a Bachelors Degree or higher to become a “knowledge based” worker and add to the states prosperity. If one has “low educational attainment” (which I assume is less than a four year degree) then it seems one will be a burden on the system. He classifies “low education attainment industries” (primarily manufacturing, construction, retail and hospitality) together (which I believe is a mistake) and his data suggests that these fields lost more than 3.7 million jobs in the past 2 years.
First, I must take exception to his “knowledge based” definition. If we could provide a four year degree for everyone in the county is it really needed? It surely is not cost effective, not in this economy. What is needed however is specialized training in “high-skills / high-wage” fields. A four year degree does not guarantee a high wage (just look at teachers pay), nor does it guarantee full employment (there seem to be a great number of graduates working in the retail, service , and hospitality fields trying to pay off their student loans). There are many highly skilled workers who make high wages who do not posses a four year degree!
Second, I question the number of jobs lost. A recent report “America’s Forgotten Middle-Skill Jobs” (see: www.Skills2Compete.org ) paints a completely different picture. Their findings: .. “the demand for workers to fill jobs in the middle of the labor market—those that require more than high-school, but less than a four-year degree—will likely remain quite robust relative to its supply. BLS projects that nearly half (about 45 percent) of all job openings between 2004 and 2014 will be in middle-skill occupations”
http://www.nationalskillscoalition.org/assets/reports-/americasforgottenmiddleskilljobs_2007-11.pdf
I agree with their conclusions:
* Substantial demand remains for individuals to fill skilled jobs in the middle of the labor market, with many of these jobs paying quite high wages. This is particularly true for jobs that require an associate’s degree or some particular vocational training and certification.
* While further aid for those enrolling in four-year college programs is clearly critical, we must also provide other pathways to labor market success for those who cannot enroll in or complete such degrees.
What can NV do to provide this other pathway for “high-skill” workers?
First... We must provide a parallel career path for high school students (there are some kids who just don’t want to be a “suit and tie cubicle rat” worker). Washoe County has been doing this for some time (in the same issue of RGJ is a piece on the fifteen million dollar expansion of RTI the technical high-school). That’s a good start. I’d like to see the “shop classes” reinstated in the elementary schools, (but I guess it's too "old fashioned" for students to actually "make" something with their hands once they get out of kindergarten) .
Second... we need to provide these students, and those already in the workforce with a place to continue their education and job skills. Sadly, the Community College System here in Northern NV in its current form is not up to the task. While there are a few good programs being offered, they are largely being overseen by administrators and academicians who have no knowledge of vocational workforce education and, truth be told, do not want anything to do with “That dirty fingernail bunch”. We need a separate Technical College System with leadership that is attuned to the needs of vocational students and workforce education, as well as the needs of the industrial community. While the cost of a separate system would not be cheap, I believe that this venture would have industry support and in the end, the results would be well worth the cost.
posted by cl @ 4:53 PM
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