If We Want Our Kids To Find Fulfillment and Change the World, We Need To Encourage the Trades

At some point, people collectively began to bestow more respect and prestige to individuals with college degrees. Experts believe this is largely because of technology, as its introduction into the workplace changed the nature of many positions. Workers required different competencies, and a four-year college degree suggested to many companies that the candidate could do the job. Even if applicants didn’t meet the specific qualifications, they often received preferential treatment simply because they were college graduates. That diploma became almost a proxy to experience, knowledge, or skill — and it’s a big reason for the labor shortage in which we currently find ourselves.

Instead of joining the trades or other nontraditional career paths, kids from young ages feel immense pressure to get college degrees. Our education system is hyperfocused on the path to getting into a four-year college, and it fails to prepare anyone for a life in the trades (or even make it known that options after high school exist besides college). This has led to fewer people in these positions. In construction, for example, 92% of contractors report difficulties finding skilled workers.

If the pandemic has a silver lining, however, it’s that perceptions are changing. The lockdowns alone gave many people, including high schoolers, the opportunity to reevaluate their lives and priorities. In a September 2021 survey of high school students, 48% of respondents said they’re considering pursuing a four-year degree — quite a drop from 71% in May 2020. They’re now considering options besides college, and that’s a good thing. It could even help correct the labor shortage in the U.S., at least when it comes to the trades.

Reasons for Labor Shortages in the Trades

My industry, construction, has suffered significantly from the stigma of not going to college. For the longest time, fewer and fewer people wanted to receive training by veterans in the field and learn the trade. The same goes for many other trades. In the past, we had guilds that provided training and apprenticeships, but those are nearly all dead, so the path has become less certain for those who do have an interest or curiosity in the trades.

The lack of training or apprenticing workers through hands-on experience often leads to lower-skilled workers advancing in the company too quickly. With fewer tradespeople, the labor shortage in the U.S. construction industry won’t likely change any time soon. More importantly, the shortage will increase the chances of poor-quality work, scheduling delays, and on-site accidents.

Compounding the problem for many construction companies is that almost all entry-level project engineers require a degree from a four-year university. But a degree doesn’t provide the new hire with the best skills to complete their duties. If someone had a few years of experience in the field and understood some basic business skills, that candidate would be equally prepared as, if not more prepared than, a recent graduate with a bachelor’s degree. The same could be said for almost all fields in the trades.

Encouraging Kids to Consider Options After High School Besides College

College — or structured education, at that — isn’t for everyone. As adults, parents, and educators, we should make the children in our lives aware of the potential careers for people without degrees, such as those in the trades. Help them feel proud that they might want to pursue a trade or other path in life. Here are some strategies for talking about other options besides college, namely the trades:

1. Educate yourself on careers for people without degrees.

Overcoming the stigma of pursuing options after high school besides college starts with education. Parents and educators alike need to do research of their own to understand available careers for people without four-year degrees. 

A Harvard Business School study found that 37% of employers say experience tops the list of qualifications for candidates of middle-skills jobs. Recruiters and hiring managers take this stance a step further, with 45% ranking an applicant’s potential above his or her education. What’s more, the U.S. Department of Labor has found that 322 occupations require a high school diploma, which is twice as many jobs as at any other education level, including bachelor’s and master’s levels. 

There are lots of good options after high school besides college, and the more we know about them, the more we can help the young adults in our lives take advantage of these opportunities.

2. Stress that not going to college is not a negative.

As parents, we always want the best for our kids. Our hope is that they’ll find a career that’s fulfilling to them. Sometimes, however, their interests lead them in directions that don’t align with what we imagined. That might mean other options besides college. 

When our eldest told us she didn’t want to pursue a college degree but become a licensed yoga teacher instead, I found myself making excuses for her decision. I realized I wasn’t being a supportive parent when asked, “So, where is Susan going to college?” In fact, I was buying into that “college-or-bust” stigma.

Choosing options after high school besides college doesn’t make teens inferior to those pursuing four-year degrees. Of course, the onus isn’t just on parents. If you look back to 40 years ago, roughly one-third of counselors and teachers recommended that all students go to college. Ten years later, that number had doubled. Counselors need to get on board and stop making high schoolers think college is the only viable path for a successful, happy future.

3. Help young people find valuable resources.

It’s crucial that all students understand their options — including careers for people without degrees — and have access to the resources necessary for exploring their interests. Many high schools have responded by offering structured courses that allow students to discover opportunities outside the four-year college path. It’s a step in the right direction, but it still needs further expansion, especially with the narrowing curriculum that kids receive as they get older.

Though career and technical education, or CTE, programs still exist, they’re on the decline. For the most part, English, math, science, social studies, and foreign language make up the core. CTE is left to nothing more than a few electives. School should make other opportunities readily available. Experiential learning, extracurricular activities, and internshiplike experiences with area trades professionals can all provide hands-on learning and serve as starting points for students to uncover what truly drives them.

Pushing college as the only answer does no one any favors, and it will only widen the labor shortage in the U.S. What’s more, it can distract many students from setting off on their true paths. And with student debt averaging just shy of $40,000 per borrower, other options besides college, like the trades, should be kept on the table, especially for anyone with no interest in the four-year college experience. It’s just saddling young people with debt for education and careers that don’t match their passions.

Grant Robbins is the co-founder of billy, the time-saving tool that helps construction companies verify that their subcontractors and partners have the correct insurance on every project. Billy allows companies to request, verify, and track insurance certificates on one platform to manage insurance risk.

Resources:
• https://www.thebalance.com/number-of-high-schoolers-eyeing-college-dives-5208890

• https://www.american-apartment-owners-association.org/property-management/latest-news/why-the-construction-labor-shortage-is-only-going-to-get-worse/
• https://www.hbs.edu/managing-the-future-of-work/Documents/dismissed-by-degrees.pdf
• https://www.talentinc.com/press-2019-10-07
• https://www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2020/article/education-level-and-openings.htm
• https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/opinion-not-every-student-should-go-to-college-and-thats-ok/2020/03
• https://www.investopedia.com/student-loan-debt-2019-statistics-and-outlook-4772007

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