The next generation of high school graduates are considering trade schools over traditional colleges, as detailed in a recent Vice report. Apprenticeships are becoming the labor of choice, and graduates getting paid to learn is a viable offer. Generation Z wants to jump-start their careers as soon as possible. Building up tens of thousands of dollars in debt before receiving on-the-job training is not as appealing as it once was.
There is a definite gap between the amount of available jobs there are and the amount of trained candidates that can fill those positions. Currently, 6 million job opportunities are vacant, and employers are looking to fulfill that need. Many high school graduates are readying themselves to capitalize on this demand.
According to the Brookings Institution, the number of career and technical education credits earned by high school students dropped by 14 percent from 1990 to 2009. Fortunately, there’s been a resurgence since then.
The traditional four-year college experience is attempting to attract high school graduates with more and more amenities. The only problem is that students don’t want to have to go into debt to enjoy them. For college campuses to stay competitive with this changing market, they have to offer alternative programs.
Generation Z wants to learn, now, and work, now. Delaying work for four years is less than ideal. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that apprentice jobs pay $22 an hour. That is a dramatic improvement compared to getting a typical full-time job right out of high school. Those jobs (and their wages) may be a threat to the “Fight-for-15” minimum wage movement.
If high school graduates increasingly opt for trade school, it might change how educators prepare their students for life after graduation. Furthermore, employers will be forced to work more closely with trade schools to discover potential candidates, and to be more open to students without a typical four-year college degree.
This has political implications as well. Eclectic courses are going to be re-evaluated, if not left out of future degree programs. Those pursuing a STEM-related education will not be participating in cultural studies classes. That leaves a lot less time for leftist professors to press their political opinions on impressionable college students. Classes will have to justify their utility to both students and administrators.
High school graduates want to advance rapidly, in terms of education and wages. This will change the face of education, and it will transform the way educators develop learning programs. As the economy continues to grow and improve, those who want to work will partially command the job market.
Rosemary Dewar (@Rlynnd1) is a contributor to Athens Now Alabama.
