Nine months in trade school. Job guaranteed.

cnn.com ^ | 3/14/2012 | Parija Kavilanz

[RoosterRedux]

As millions of young Americans struggle to land jobs, students in manufacturing trade schools are sitting in a sweet spot. They're being hired even before they graduate.

Two weeks ago, students from the manufacturing program in Chicago's Wilbur Wright-Humboldt Park vocational college attended a local job fair.

"Five of our students were hired in just one day," said lead instructor Bryant Redd. The new hires are from a class of 41 students who are still four months away from completing a nine-month advanced certification program in computerized numerical control (CNC) machining. In the program, students go beyond basic machining with classes in computer design, machine shop technology and machine shop math.

Manufacturers in the Chicago area are busier than ever lately, and they're "begging" for more workers trained in advanced manufacturing skills like CNC machining, said Redd.

It's not just in Chicago. Factory work has picked up considerably nationwide, making skilled workers a valuable commodity, said Marc Smierciak, associate dean of instruction at the vocational college.

[org.whodat]

Not picked up dummy, baby boomers that can afford too are retiring.

[RightOnline]

Keep reading:

"It's not just in Chicago. Factory work has picked up considerably nationwide, making skilled workers a valuable commodity...

[TwelveOfTwenty]

As millions of young Americans struggle to land jobs, students in manufacturing trade schools are sitting in a sweet spot. They're being hired even before they graduate.

I can believe this, because they're learning employable skills that can help a company make a profit.

As opposed to those liberal arts degrees that college students are getting to debt for $80,000+ for.

[org.whodat]

3 to six months, most community colleges and engineering schools have training available. Also depends on how good you are at math.

[magellan]

"My husband worked at a heavy manufacturing for decades. Certified as welder now even."

"Sadly, have to move to CHICAGO?"

There has been a shortage of certified welders for years. The economic downturn and reduction in commercial construction have lessened the impact of the shortage, but there is still a shortage.

While some locations may have limited opportunities, there are other locations which have extreme shortages.

You do not necessarily have to move. Many welders travel to construction jobs at their employer's expense. My brother in law is a certified welder. He lives in the middle of nowhere and travels to construction sites in major cities in the U.S. and Canada.

If you do consider moving, consider the oil patches of North Dakota or Texas.

[EQAndyBuzz]

We had something in NYC called trade schools. You went there as an alternative to high school.

[org.whodat]

More than that.

[RightOnline]

The smart ones do.

I’m not “blue collar” by any means, but I sure know the value of LinkedIn. It’s an invaluable tool. I’m in the supercomputing field (high performance computing, aka HPC). I’m connected to nearly 1000 heavy-hitters in the HPC arena on LinkedIn. Unbelievable the folks I’m directly connected to and can readily communicate directly with due to that site.

[RoosterRedux]

I think you are correct.

OTOH, I was watching my local access TV station the other day and the hot new activity in the local high school is robotics. They robotics club/team is going to CA for a competition (we are in GA).

[finnsheep]

They are looking for welders in the Marcellus Shale areas in PA for sure.

[Chode]

thre are thousands of job shops in this country, and many are looking for those who are CAD and APT proficient and/or can set up and run CNC machine jobs...

[I cannot think of a name]

You’re both correct, but it is even more than that.

When I was growing up, like most kids in the neighborhood, my Dad did most of the upkeep around the house himself out of financial necessity. We needed a large tool shed for the back yard, we built one. Another light and switch in the hallway, we installed one. By time I left home at 18, I don’t think I could build a house from scratch, but there was very little about the process that I didn’t know something about.

Now days, with so many single households and the like, young men get almost NO experience with their hands, or how to repair anything. A neighbor near us (less than half my age) got burned terribly by some “home improvement” company. When he told me the story, my first thought was - how could you be so stupid, I knew better than that when I was ten years old. But I said nothing because how little he knows is not unusual, and just a sad fact of modern life.

[FrankR]

It's simple, really; everyone can't be the "CEO", some have to be the "worker bees". The high side to that is, the CEO's can't do a thing without the workers.

The colleges are drowning in liberalism and political correctness and handing out diplomas like obama hands out food stamps. Unfortunately, the world is not "the land of Oz" and having a diploma does not necessarily make one smart.

But, it puts them to the front of the line for getting interviews; I've noticed that many job ads now, even for the most menial tasks, require a bachelor's degree. And it seems that the longer kids go to college the more liberal they become.

Trade schools provide a dire need for qualified people - the type of people that keep America running.

As a kid growing up in a mill village I always wanted to be an executive, and wear fine suits and ties to work...well, that happened and I wore a suit and tie to work for over 30 years - hated every minute of it.

My Dad wanted me to be an electrician...and looking back I really wish that I had listened to him. Housing was booming then and I think I would have been a lot happier, and healthier, wearing jeans, climbing ladders, and stringing wire. I would probably have made more money and had a lot less stress in the long term, too.

Hindsight is 20-20.

College is fine for those who want to be doctors, engineers, or lawyers (but we have too many Perry-Mason-wannabes out there now)but a lot of kids are lured into exotic sounding degrees to placate their young ideals and TV-inspired dreams, and they can't find employment in those exotic fields, so they are thousands of dollars in student loan debt, working at a shoe store somewhere...or fast food.

Many won't agree with my take, but I've been watching the world for over 60 years and these things I have observed are out there, and growing.

Liberal arts are ok....I love to write and draw and play music but I know I was never good enough at those things to make a living at them...not a very good living anyway. However, if you've had to pay a plumbing bill or and electrician lately, you know what I'm talking about.

[napscoordinator]

Best of luck. There are so great areas around Chicago. I have family in Lincolnshire and Arlington Heights. Two pretty nice areas.

[metmom]

HOMESCHOOL PING

This ping list is for articles of interest to homeschoolers. I hold both the Homeschool Ping List and the Another Reason to Homeschool Ping List. Please freepmail me to let me know if you would like to be added or removed from either list, or both.

The keyword for the FREE REPUBLIC HOMESCHOOLERS’ FORUM is frhf.

This actually might be of interest to homeschoolers. I know many homeschoolers try to decide what to do about high school. This sort of an idea could be something to work from.

[wally_bert]

I’m looking at going back to school to pick up something else. CNC is something I will look into. Other ideas are electronics maintenance/repair and industrial robotics.

[DManA]

Well supercomputing engineers are by definition “the smart ones”.

Seems there is a squeeze going on here. The value of the work needing to be done apparently isn’t worth the expense of training someone to do it. And where it is there’s no guarantee the company will be the beneficiary of the cost since the employee is free to go work for a higher bidder. And the manufacturers don’t want to offer long term contracts for these guys because business might require them to lay them off at any time.

Big problems mean big opportunities for someone clever enough to solve them.

[wally_bert]

I spent a couple of weeks with some relatives of friends in Arlingeton Heights back in the mid 80s when I was a teen. I really enjoyed the time there.

[ponygirl]

We had a neighbor growing up who started out as a garbage man and went on to own his own sanitation business. He bought the huge mansion up the hill from our house and drove a really nice Benz.

And you should see the fees our current HOA pays the guy who picks up the dog crap in our community. He's putting himself through college on what he's earning by picking up after the college graduate students who refuse to pick up after their own dogs. We have a ton of grad students living around here, they all have dogs, and they all think someone else should pick up after them.

It's all about your attitude and energy level. Making lemonade out of lemons.

[mountn man]

BIG difference between a certified welder and a certified pipe welder.

And yes, I DO KNOW what I'm talking about. I was a "certified" welder before I became a pipefitter and I currently carry 8 welding certs for pipe welding.