Community colleges have been turned by the educational establishment into liberal arts college prep schools instead of centers of training for technical and administrative jobs for those not desiring a four year liberal arts degree.
A nearby community college had a nationally renowned 2 year woodworking program turning out skilled cabinet makers, furniture makers, and trim carpenters. A new college president came to the school and made an arbitrary decision to close the program because the furniture industry was going offshore so there would in the future be no need for this training. The school shut down the program, sold off equipment, sent the skilled instructors packing and reallocated the funding to liberal arts education. The school ignored the fact that very few graduates were going to work in furniture and cabinet factories. In fact most would get a few years of experience, start their own businesses, and become successful small businessmen in the region. The program was dropped despite strong opposition from graduates and the community.
Within the past week I met with an entrepreneur who started an HVAC company that today employs 43 people. He lamented the fact he could not find enough skilled young people to hire as installers and repair technicians. The local technical schools and community colleges are not supplying enough skilled graduates to bring into the business as trainees.
There is a high demand in the market for skilled tradesmen who can work with their hands and their mind. It is a shame the education system fails high school graduates who would benefit from learning a trade. Reallocating some of the billions wasted on higher education toward technical education would benefit small business, millions of unemployable young people, and boost the economy.
Unfortunately the elites who run the education industry look down at people who work the hands and their minds.
Colleges are full of taxpayer funded students who bog the whole system down. They aren’t bad people but they and the nation would be better served in trade schools.
The worst part is the fact that all that taxpayer funding does what taxpayer funding always does. The colleges invent new ways of justifying the funding with worthless courses and professors.
My sister is trying to get some sort of business degree though our local community college. Used to be you paid a couple hundred dollars, took the courses and got the degree. Unfortunately our community college is trying to become another unneeded 4 year school and they’re behaving like one. The first thing she has to do is take an orientation course so she can learn to juggle college and social life. She’s nearly 50 years old and hasn’t had or needed a social life in decades. The orientation course requires several school specific books that will cost hundreds of dollars.
And that is a shame, but what can you expect from educated idiots, which these elites are?
“Unfortunately the elites who run the education industry look down at people who work the hands and their minds.”
This REALLY annoys me - you can even see this attitude on “The Big Bang Theory” - where Sheldon looks down upon and constantly derides Wolowitz, the lowly engineer. In Europe (particularly Eastern Europe), engineers are (or at least were) addressed and announced as “Mr(s). Engineer” as much as “Mr(s). Professor”, “Mr(s). Academician”, Mr(s). Doctor”.
There! Fixed that! We don't have an education system in the U.S. We instead have crony-education for members of the education-industrial-complex.