When Training Disappears

Many people saw this coming a few decades ago and now it is really upon us, the pipeline for workers in the skilled trades and manufacturing is broken.  This is not just me saying this, but most community, business and key manufacturing leaders will admit that this as a major stumbling block to helping cities being able to revive their economies.  Without a few exceptions, these pipelines of workers are "blue collar” jobs that pay well and are a part of the middle class.  

There are a number of reasons as to why we have reached this tipping point and crucial juncture in America.  First of all, it comes as more “baby boomers” (1946-1964) are aging out and retiring.  Secondly, many technical/community colleges have scaled back career specific programs in urban centers and secondary schools districts have eliminated nearly all forms of career technical education.  Thirdly, a high percentage of skilled jobs of the past no longer exist or have moved to the suburbs or were outsourced overseas.  Lastly, to make matters worse, the changing and emergence economy requires a new level of skilled workforce... that is ready to go. 

These reasons as well as a number of social factors have created a “huge hole” in the training infrastructure in developing a highly skilled and quality future workforce.  Additionally, there are few training centers that focus specifically on equipping workers with the skills necessary for new processes in modern technology.  With such a massive hole in the training cycle and because many skills take an extended timeframe to learn, the gap is getting wider and wider with each passing day.  In addition, the gap is looming much larger and deeper do in part to the return of more manufacturing jobs from off-shore sites.  Finally, and when you factor in that more than two generations of young Americans had no exposure to any career technical education at all,... well this is where we are and this is what we look like.      

To add another twist to this reality is the fact that the technical education and training needed to obtain a livable wage employment is not readily available, easily accessible or affordable to those living in urban America.  With all this and more, it is easy to see that part of what is keeping families living in urban cities from moving forward.  Not only has work disappeared from urban America, but training needed to meet the demands of a new economy has disappeared as well.  With such disconnections, disruptions and disparity, it is going to be an uphill battle to get things going in the right direction again.   It is not impossible, but the odds are long and the hole is deep.  What do you think?