No Jobs? Mike Rowe's Lament

[the1kidd03]

i know this, but what i mean is i would like to see more apprenticeship opportunity's if this had been available in my area i would of done this insted of putting myself in debt at a tech school. i think tech schools are great but real world on the job experince is very hard to get a school.( the place i went tried very hard to do so). as ive learned the hard way my schooling got me in the door, but i still don't know crap i think ive learned more in the last three months than i did in three years at school.

Ah, yeah. Apprenticeships aren't too common anymore....or easy to find. Usually they can be found in a slect few skilled trades which do require more hands on learning than classroom, but even then they are few and far between anymore.

 

[roadrunner681]

Ah, yeah. Apprenticeships aren't too common anymore....or easy to find. Usually they can be found in a slect few skilled trades which do require more hands on learning than classroom, but even then they are few and far between anymore.

i know, there's no way a school, can teach you all the basic info you need to be mechanic, let alone getting in to actually fixing things. the last apprenticeship ive heard of was from penske truck but its a *&^%$# to get on to it.

 

[Leo]

I taught classes for the electrical apprenticship. I always told the freshly graduated journeymen that now they are officially lead greenhorns, what you learn in the next few years when there is no one to hold your hand will determine how good you can be.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

I've been vocal about this issue for a while. Not everyone is well served by attending college, and it's not always about academic ability. Many, many who are funneled into college because they don't think they have a better choice would do much better learning a trade like machinist, welder, electrician, etc.

Same here. I've made posts on the same topic before. Too many bright and motivated people were funneled to college and away from the trades so "you won't end up being a ditch digger." Now they've got useless degrees, mountains of debt, and are well and truly screwed at the point in their life they should be taking off. Thank God I joined the Army and didn't fall into the same trap.

 

[jamil]

Same here. I've made posts on the same topic before. Too many bright and motivated people were funneled to college and away from the trades so "you won't end up being a ditch digger." Now they've got useless degrees, mountains of debt, and are well and truly screwed at the point in their life they should be taking off. Thank God I joined the Army and didn't fall into the same trap.

There's nothing wrong with going to collegee when it's part of a solid, well thought out career plan. Same with going to a trade school. It's not like kids go to college for silly degrees like sociology because they yearned and planed to be sociologists all their lives. They do it becacause they're told they have to go to college and they don't really know what they want to be.

A career choice is one of the most impacting decisions young people will make. Going to college for the sake of going to college is just a good way to pile up debt and have little else to show for it. And you can say the same for trades. But if you really want to be that thing that requires a degree, and there's a solid outlook for that career path, then college is the right choice.

 

[Twangbanger]

If we take the "problem statement" for this discussion to be, "Good jobs are going unfilled," I would like to ask - what portion of the problem is the result of a significant portion of the population being unable to pass a pre-employment drug screening? In my experience, it's a significant factor.

And since the OP is a flag-waving "L", I think it's also fair to ask, for the sake of ideological consistency - what happens when we achieve the long-sought goal of legalizing more recreational drugs? Do you also pass laws forcing employers of, say, electricians, to not perform drug tests? How do we convince such employers, who in the opinion of some in this thread aren't very enthusiastic about training their people in the first place, to be any more enthusiastic about paying to drug-rehabilitate those same people before they can get quality work out of them?

And do you want that person wiring your house?

Discuss.

 

[AllenM]

Good jobs going unfulfilled filled? Yes definitely, I have been posting on multiple sighs for a skilled position that could earn 50,000 to 100,000 a year maybe more and get no response. People don't want to work and young people don't want to train.
Now granted that was for a trained professional but even when I run an ad for an apprentice for to train someone for the above mentioned job nobody applies. I have advertised at $12.00 an hour for an entry level job that requires little to no skill or tools and would train them for a career better than tech colleges just so I would get some apps but nothing.
When unemployment pays 10 -12 dollars an hour once you factor in taxes it seems many people are content with that and have no desire to advance and contribute to society as a productive member.

There are a few out there willing and wanting to work and the jabs are there, but all I hear and see is" I can't find a job" to me translates into I have grown accustom to living off of others and really like the freedom of not being tied down to a job.

There are so many excuses someone can use and the liberal government capitalizes on this growing segment of the population and feeds those excuses and enables those that can but don't want to work.

There are people out the that need and deserve public assistance but my opinion is there are more that don't yet they get it and cry for it the loudest....

 

[avboiler11]

There was a Cessna towing a large banner yesterday in the Jeffersonville/Louisville area yesterday...advertising $12/hr jobs for Amazon Fulfillment.

 

[ghitch75]

Good jobs going unfulfilled filled? Yes definitely, I have been posting on multiple sighs for a skilled position that could earn 50,000 to 100,000 a year maybe more and get no response. People don't want to work and young people don't want to train.
Now granted that was for a trained professional but even when I run an ad for an apprentice for to train someone for the above mentioned job nobody applies. I have advertised at $12.00 an hour for an entry level job that requires little to no skill or tools and would train them for a career better than tech colleges just so I would get some apps but nothing.
When unemployment pays 10 -12 dollars an hour once you factor in taxes it seems many people are content with that and have no desire to advance and contribute to society as a productive member.

There are a few out there willing and wanting to work and the jabs are there, but all I hear and see is" I can't find a job" to me translates into I have grown accustom to living off of others and really like the freedom of not being tied down to a job.

There are so many excuses someone can use and the liberal government capitalizes on this growing segment of the population and feeds those excuses and enables those that can but don't want to work.

There are people out the that need and deserve public assistance but my opinion is there are more that don't yet they get it and cry for it the loudest....

glad to see your offering a good job and wage......people on welfare and government subsidies make around 15 buc's an hour so this is why no one is beating your door down for the job......sad state of affairs

 

[rhino]

My comment on Ivy Tech; Once again, when a person pays bottom barrel wages they eliminate the obtainment or the retention of the best and brightest. Ivy Tech's compensation for the part time adjuct professors is pretty low. If a teacher is dedicated and puts in the extra work, and spends a little extra time with the students, they end up clearing minimum wage. That is not the students fault, as they are paying in good faith for the education. The administration is totally responsible for the staff. If you they would pay an extra $30 per evening, they would end up being able to offer a far more satisfying classroom experience.

You are correct.

 

[indiucky]

Pride and desire to excel are not something you're going to learn in classroom.

Well said sir. Very well said.

 

[the1kidd03]

Good jobs going unfulfilled filled? Yes definitely, I have been posting on multiple sighs for a skilled position that could earn 50,000 to 100,000 a year maybe more and get no response. People don't want to work and young people don't want to train.
Now granted that was for a trained professional but even when I run an ad for an apprentice for to train someone for the above mentioned job nobody applies. I have advertised at $12.00 an hour for an entry level job that requires little to no skill or tools and would train them for a career better than tech colleges just so I would get some apps but nothing.
When unemployment pays 10 -12 dollars an hour once you factor in taxes it seems many people are content with that and have no desire to advance and contribute to society as a productive member.

There are a few out there willing and wanting to work and the jabs are there, but all I hear and see is" I can't find a job" to me translates into I have grown accustom to living off of others and really like the freedom of not being tied down to a job.

There are so many excuses someone can use and the liberal government capitalizes on this growing segment of the population and feeds those excuses and enables those that can but don't want to work.

There are people out the that need and deserve public assistance but my opinion is there are more that don't yet they get it and cry for it the loudest....

I'd be happy to assist you by reviewing your ads and seeing if we can make them more effective for your needs.

Not to be a knock at you personally, but I see all too often where businesses place advertisements for positions which aren't detailed enough, aren't well written from a marketing standpoint, etc. They might be excellent at what they do, but that doesn't mean they are an expert in all fields pertaining to running a business. Marketing, leadership issues, and management are some of the most common areas businesses struggle. Marketing applies to more than just customers.

Like I said in previous posts, in this economy getting skilled employees is about enticing them....not them enticing you so much as it was in the past. Today's people place more value on "fit" within an organization, how they treat their people, being valued, etc. much more so than just merely having a job. A lot of sociological issues have contributed to this mindset over time including not having experienced the same hardships many did all those decades ago to make them grateful for employment in general. People have different motivations, yes, but the basics are essentially the same. In the most basic sense, they simply want to be valued by an employer and not just another worker mindlessly taking on tasks.

 

[AllenM]

I'd be happy to assist you by reviewing your ads and seeing if we can make them more effective for your needs.

Not to be a knock at you personally, but I see all too often where businesses place advertisements for positions which aren't detailed enough, aren't well written from a marketing standpoint, etc. They might be excellent at what they do, but that doesn't mean they are an expert in all fields pertaining to running a business. Marketing, leadership issues, and management are some of the most common areas businesses struggle. Marketing applies to more than just customers.

Like I said in previous posts, in this economy getting skilled employees is about enticing them....not them enticing you so much as it was in the past. Today's people place more value on "fit" within an organization, how they treat their people, being valued, etc. much more so than just merely having a job. A lot of sociological issues have contributed to this mindset over time including not having experienced the same hardships many did all those decades ago to make them grateful for employment in general. People have different motivations, yes, but the basics are essentially the same. In the most basic sense, they simply want to be valued by an employer and not just another worker mindlessly taking on tasks.

You are correct in your assessment. There are so many things involved in running a business that don't nessasarily pertain to the actual primary business that there is no way I would be qualified in all of them, perhaps not even many of them

I would be willing to have to assist in modifying or completely reworking what I am using. I have come to accept that the response, or lack there of typical from any of the other shop owners I speak with and have decided that I will train and promote from withing but it's a slow process and a lot of work doing that. As I said earlier it hard even getting apprentices.

 

[Blackhawk2001]

There was a Cessna towing a large banner yesterday in the Jeffersonville/Louisville area yesterday...advertising $12/hr jobs for Amazon Fulfillment.

I was desperate enough to apply for a seasonal job at Amazon a couple years ago. But I won't work anywhere where I can't even carry a pocket knife.

 

[Brandon]

Allen if your shop wasn't as far away as it is from me, I would apply and supply a truck to teach me with...

 

[Hookeye]

It appears that many colleges are teaching sucking arse more than anything else.
Not impressed with non skilled workforce either, especially the younger generation.
PC and other social poisons have really screwed things up over the last 20 years.

New hires where I work, are always on their I phones, they can't even show up on time for the first freakin' 5 days.

They almost all seem afflicted with an entitlement mindset.

 

[Shadow8088]

by the way... this is also the kind of crap that happens when you cut the education budget... even if we dumped billions into the education budget tomorrow, we wouldn't see it start to pay off for at least a decade...

 

[BehindBlueI's]

There's nothing wrong with going to collegee when it's part of a solid, well thought out career plan. Same with going to a trade school. It's not like kids go to college for silly degrees like sociology because they yearned and planed to be sociologists all their lives. They do it becacause they're told they have to go to college and they don't really know what they want to be.

Or the world changes under them. How'd you like to be the guy who just graduated with a computer science degree the day after the dot.com bubble burst? To suddenly have the market flooded with experienced people recently out of work? To have J1 visas drive wages down? To have outsourcing to foreign nations drive wages down?

What do you reckon an astrophysicist's job prospects are like today?

 

[the1kidd03]

It appears that many colleges are teaching sucking arse more than anything else.
Not impressed with non skilled workforce either, especially the younger generation.
PC and other social poisons have really screwed things up over the last 20 years.

New hires where I work, are always on their I phones, they can't even show up on time for the first freakin' 5 days.

They almost all seem afflicted with an entitlement mindset.

Define "PC?"

I find that, particularly in the subset of conservative culture, many people ascribe blame to this concept, yet have little understanding of what it actually is.

There has been a large generation developed with an entitled mindset. There was a pretty good article on it recently. I'll have to track it down and link it tonight.

 

[Phil502]

Or the world changes under them. How'd you like to be the guy who just graduated with a computer science degree the day after the dot.com bubble burst? To suddenly have the market flooded with experienced people recently out of work? To have J1 visas drive wages down? To have outsourcing to foreign nations drive wages down?

What do you reckon an astrophysicist's job prospects are like today?

Exactly. When I was a steelworker in the 80's there were lots of millwrights available because they all got layed off from the big mills. No way was the company, Jernberg Industries, going to train anybody, they didn't need to. How many guys are scared to go into another blue-collar job for fear of the same stuff happening. The best jobs like electrician and pipefitter are union gigs, if you don't have the connections, you don't get in. I really think ole Mike Rowe is simplifying things a bit. Look on Monster.com for welder jobs, there's a lot but I see a lot of 2 years experience needed too. I went to school and did pretty good, I don't regret it, it's sometimes about time and place too.