Training the Trades
Like many baby boomers in the ‘ 60s , I had to take shop classes in junior high and high school . Wood shop , metal shop , and mechanical drafting were a mandatory part of the curriculum .
Mark Norton
Executive Director , Northwest I-90 Manufacturing Alliance Principal , Norton Strategic Consulting mnorton @ nimalliance . org 509-954-8781
NW I-90 Manufacturing Alliance
But even in the late ‘ 60s , the focus of education was to prepare for college . My buddies who worked on their cars after school and wanted to be auto mechanics ? They were just out of luck when it came to support for a non-academic career track . ( And never mind the female students that might have had an interest in the trades ).
Fast forward to 2024 , and the lack of alternative career pathways in education is obvious . We have philosophy majors driving for Uber , while construction and manufacturing are desperately trying to replace a workforce that is losing much of the tribal knowledge from my retiring generation . It has become clear that we are failing as a nation in setting up the future workforce for success , for young people who are not college bound .
44 NORTHWEST AEROSPACE NEWS