The myth of six-figure welders
We first wrote about welders in 2013. Its a topic we keep coming back to, most recently in a 2018 post entitled What skilled trades job actually pay. The reason why we keep writing about welders is they have become…
Welding isn’t the skill welders need most
I'm reading a new book on the so-called skills gap. Beyond the Skills Gap: Preparing College Students for Life and Work by University of Wisconsin professor Matthew Hora. Important book on an important topic. As I'm reading I ran across…
Machinists and welders
Machinists and welders have become public exhibit #1 of why we need to reemphasize vocational training in high school and beyond. The claim is these are high demand/high wage occupations that are now suffering labor shortages because the culture and…
The paucity of high-paid blue collar manufacturing jobs
In a 2012 post entitled Low pay driving job vacancies I posited that the reason manufacturers had a shortage of skilled trades workers was low pay, not a skills shortage. That post featured a New York Times Magazine article by…
Michigan Future’s most-read blogs
Month after month, year after year, there are four most-read blogs. All have in common an exploration of the skills and occupations that are most rewarded in today's labor market. That those skills are not occupation specific, but rather broader…
The difficulty of getting to 60 percent with post-secondary credentials
Governor Whitmer with lots of bi-partisan and business community support has established the goal of 60 percent of Michigan adults having a post- secondary credential by 2030. The Lumina Foundation––which has been at the center of the national effort to…
What skilled trades jobs actually pay updated
Our second most read post recently is a 2016 post on what skilled trades jobs pay. I wrote the 2016 post because I was then––and am now––skeptical of the claims about the number of jobs and pay in the traditional blue collar…
The Governor is right that talent is a big issue. He’s wrong about how to solve it.
Reading the guest commentary Governor Snyder penned for Bridge Magazine explaining the ideas behind his Marshall Plan for Talent was like riding a roller coaster. It’s clear Governor Snyder understands that the world of work has fundamentally changed and that…
Education for a forty-year career
The centerpiece of our education policy agenda is that our education system should prepare students not for a first job, but for a forty-year career. The dominant narrative today seems to be the opposite – that we need to tie…
The skilled trades and six-figure salaries
In just about any discussion on college access, someone will at some point mention the skilled trades. “Let’s not forget about the skilled trades,” they’ll say. “There’s such demand, and you can make six figures as a welder or electrician!”…
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