Technical Education in NV?

By the time this appears, the election will be over…  America will have chosen its course for the future.  Either way,  BOTH contenders vowed to get America working again by bringing back manufacturing and training Americans for these jobs.  OK… its time to put up or shut up,  and throwing money at the schools will not work.  Giving more money to the schools only results in more administration and more of the same academic “soft-skills” (which are important but)….    While an appreciation for fine art, poetry, and Shakespeare may “round out a full education”  ,  It is not what will bring back manufacturing to these shores.   I’ve taught Community College (both here in Nevada and previously in CA.) and some kids, straight out of high school here in NV cannot read a tape measure (so maybe we have a problem?).  I’ve been in NV now over 20 years.  Every year studies are made, meetings set, polls taken, all regarding expanding our economic base.  One of the main points that always surfaces are NV does not have a trained technical workforce.  I agree.  There is virtually no public vocational or workforce development training.  It has been tried, grants have been awarded, and the academics somehow manage to ‘reallocate resources” , which basically means take the grant money and apply it to their pet academic projects.  I learned early on that once a grant is awarded, there is little oversight as to how it is spent  (and trying to actually get an investigation going into that matter is impossible)

IF you want to start a manufacturing economy here in Nevada, It will take a separate (but equal) Technical College System.  The Colleges, with their emphasis on academics will always be at odds with those who work with their hands instead of their minds. Before high school, kids should be learning basic vocational skills (like maybe how to use simple hand-tools, like a tape-measure).  High school should offer choices: College or the Trades.  Trust me, not every kid is cut out to be a brain surgeon  just as not every kid is cut out to be an electrician or plumber (by the way, all three of these professions are respectable and a very profitable way to make a living, why a Doctor gets more respect than a mechanic is beyond me.. they both do basically the same job).  OK…. Money is going to be spent.. how do we make sure it is being spent to help improve the Country and improve the lives of Nevada residents?  My vote is Technical/Vocational education, by those of us who know and understand the field.  Anything less is a waste of time and money.