We need more trade schools

[Dave Fritz]

Jim, I don't disagree with you at all. Schools reflect the community. Decisions regarding programming and curriculum are made by the local school board and the state legislature. Any change must come from the community. However in my opinion some responsibility rests with the student and their family themselves. Opportunities are out there if the student wants them. Concerned community members should go to the school board meetings and/or get on the school board. Contact your legislator and share your thoughts.

[Kevin Jenness]

With the development of artificial intelligence many jobs formerly requiring an advanced education may no longer need human input. Trades and arts that cannot be supplanted by robots may be the last refuge of humans that want to be productive and creative in the physical realm.

[Curt Harms]

With the development of artificial intelligence many jobs formerly requiring an advanced education may no longer need human input. Trades and arts that cannot be supplanted by robots may be the last refuge of humans that want to be productive and creative in the physical realm.

True Kevin and I think commercial woodworking will be one of those diminished by CNC. I expect there'll be niche woodworking jobs for those with the means and desire for something truly unique but 98% of woodworking will be done by designers and machine operators. Installation will be another matter, I don't know to what extent that can be mechanized.

[Kevin Jenness]

True Kevin and I think commercial woodworking will be one of those diminished by CNC. I expect there'll be niche woodworking jobs for those with the means and desire for something truly unique but 98% of woodworking will be done by designers and machine operators. Installation will be another matter, I don't know to what extent that can be mechanized.

Yes, you are probably correct. Who knows if our electronic overlords will desire the sort of workmanship heretofore unavailable through machine processes?

[Michael Drew]

I am a maintenance manager. I have millwrights, electricians, instrument techs, comm techs, machinists, and welders. Each year we go through a recruiting/hiring process to fill open positions, mostly open through attrition nowadays. The pool has dried up. I used to wade through 600+ resumes. Now, I'm lucky to see 200, and half of those are not even remotely qualified.

Try and find a machinist that can run manual machines..... Good luck. They are CNC programmers anymore.

We pay extremely well, 401K + pension, excellent benefits.

There simply are not many in trades anymore. And frankly, work ethic is a trait that seems to have evaporated. I can teach a lot of things, but I can't teach someone work ethics.

If anyone knows a good machinist that might want to work in Alaska, we will be posting for two real soon.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Our Son In Laws younger brother has recently become a certified machinist. He attended a school in the St. Louis MO area (Ranken). We took our son to Lynn MO to check out Lynn Tech (now State Tech) when he was a senior in high school. The schools are still present. They still attract youngsters. I am trying to get up my nerve (at 60) to take a high school level CAD / CAM class at the Carrier Center here in our town.

https://career-center.org/

https://statetechmo.edu/?utm_source=...xoCoowQAvD_BwE

https://ranken.edu/?gad_source=1&gcl...BoCisoQAvD_BwE

[Brian Elfert]

I am a maintenance manager. I have millwrights, electricians, instrument techs, comm techs, machinists, and welders. Each year we go through a recruiting/hiring process to fill open positions, mostly open through attrition nowadays. The pool has dried up. I used to wade through 600+ resumes. Now, I'm lucky to see 200, and half of those are not even remotely qualified.

Two hundred applications seems like a lot these days. My employer has difficulty finding anyone to apply to IT jobs that pay around the six figure mark. We tried to hire someone starting in January or February 2023 and it it took until June to make a job offer. The first time the job was posted we got one or two applications. The job ended up being reposted with some changes to the qualifications and I don't think we got even ten applications total.

[Brian Elfert]

With the development of artificial intelligence many jobs formerly requiring an advanced education may no longer need human input. Trades and arts that cannot be supplanted by robots may be the last refuge of humans that want to be productive and creative in the physical realm.

If AI takes away a lot of office jobs then tradespeople won't be far behind. Construction will grind to a halt if millions are unemployed. People will stop having remodeling done and will probably DIY things versus hiring a pro. People may also live without air conditioning if they have no money.

[Edward Weber]

If AI takes away a lot of office jobs then tradespeople won't be far behind. Construction will grind to a halt if millions are unemployed. People will stop having remodeling done and will probably DIY things versus hiring a pro. People may also live without air conditioning if they have no money.

Funny you should mention that.

These robots have been around for years but they're only getting better. This was in the news a few days back.
https://mashable.com/video/autonomou...ion-monumental

It'll still take a crew of people to transport load/feed, and maintain them, but they're here to stay

[Maurice Mcmurry]

If AI takes away a lot of office jobs then tradespeople won't be far behind. Construction will grind to a halt if millions are unemployed. People will stop having remodeling done and will probably DIY things versus hiring a pro. People may also live without air conditioning if they have no money.

Won't air conditioning be programed into your download from the Matrix? (trying to interject humor even though this stuff is no joke)

[Steve Demuth]

I think the situation must be, as you say, highly available across geographies. Our Northeast Iowa Community College, which serves a dozen to maybe 15 counties in the corner of the state offers diploma and certificate programs in construction trades (carpentry, concrete and masonry, plumbing), residential and industrial electrician, HVAC, machining and other factory skills, including cabinet / furniture building. They also offer programs in diesel mechanics, and farm equipment technician. Tuition is pretty darned affordable, even before financial assistance is considered. I've been pretty darned impressed with the skill quality and professionalism of their graduates in those areas, where I've encountered them.

[Mel Fulks]

Harvard has finally embraced it. They gave a big job to a woman. Now a lot a people want a big trade.

[Jerry Bruette]

I am a maintenance manager. I have millwrights, electricians, instrument techs, comm techs, machinists, and welders. Each year we go through a recruiting/hiring process to fill open positions, mostly open through attrition nowadays. The pool has dried up. I used to wade through 600+ resumes. Now, I'm lucky to see 200, and half of those are not even remotely qualified.

Try and find a machinist that can run manual machines..... Good luck. They are CNC programmers anymore.

We pay extremely well, 401K + pension, excellent benefits.

There simply are not many in trades anymore. And frankly, work ethic is a trait that seems to have evaporated. I can teach a lot of things, but I can't teach someone work ethics.

If anyone knows a good machinist that might want to work in Alaska, we will be posting for two real soon.

I hear you. My manager had asked me and one of the electricians to help interview new hires. Some of them were complete bozos and one "electrician" couldn't draw how to wire two switches in a series, claimed he didn't have to know because "there's an app for that".

CNC machines are great if you have to crank out 120 widgets an hour. Load up your bar feeders and hit the go button. But they can be slow. If you don't need their precision a 6 spindle screw machine is faster. But now you need someone who can think and knows how to set the machine up.

[Jerry Bruette]

Funny you should mention that.

These robots have been around for years but they're only getting better. This was in the news a few days back.
https://mashable.com/video/autonomou...ion-monumental

It'll still take a crew of people to transport load/feed, and maintain them, but they're here to stay

Lots of people watched that video and are amazed at how the robots work. I watched it and started to pick it apart and look for all the failure points, and there's more than what you think. Anyone of the photo eyes, reed switches, or proximity switches fail and you're dead in the water. Get some mortar or abrasive dust in the linear bearings and you're dead in the water. Have an air line or control wire run chafe through and it's the same outcome. A blip in the power supply and the PLC doesn't know what to do, someone will have to reset it and empty out all the conveyors and grippers because it's a robot and it can't think it only does what the program in the PLC tells it to do. We won't even talk about the vision systems.

I know they're here to stay and the controls are getting better. I know jobs are being eliminated daily but there's a long way to go. Instead of fearing them or being mad that some jobs are being eliminated people should be learning about them and training how to work with them. They can't install, program or fix themselves. Learn how to do that and you'll have a good job that pays well.

[Mel Fulks]

Too bad Sears Robucks didn’t get into ….Sears Robots. Maybe they just couldn’t stop looking at their manikin Girlikans.