Quote Originally Posted by Richard View Post
The current administration has been for the last year putting together a plan that combines the department of education with the department of labor.

It is kinda what I have been talking about for awhile now and replaces the manufacturing council that was dropped.

Low performing high schoolers are identified by the schools and placed into a skills training program,its kinda a mixture of completion of a GED while receiving training in a skill set mixed in with apprenticeship program.

But not just limited to low performers.

Collage students can enroll in apprenticeship programs in thier field of study while in collage so when they get out they have expirence and job placement.No loan forgiveness but a chance on more solid footing.

Most schools districts already have vo tech branches but when combined with the department of labor the training becomes applied.

The goal was to give everybody an equal chance,some are collage material and some are not,to say ones way of life should be determined by the books is leaving a lot of people behind,some are book smart while others may excel in other ereas,We do not know until we try.

But it is still going to be based on the individual though,the opportunity will be there but unless one takes advantage of it they cannot benefit from it.

I am sure given the current votile situation there is going to be pushback,but it does not remove funding from the schools but streamlines the mission of preparing students for thier future in the workforce and providing a level playing field for everybody no matter what thier background or income.

We have the smartest and brightest,we do not need to import them,we just need to allow them to become thier best.

When it comes to social mobility,we are roller skating missing 3 wheels.

I just hope that once it is presented it can be reviewed and implemented and tweaked with everybody putting the politics aside,the ones that could benefit from this are our future and they deserve a chance.
I can't speak to the virtue of merging the two departments, though I'd be leary of another government colossus.

But in so far as there were additional or more accessible apprenticeship opportunities, I think that would be very laudable.

I'm not, however, at all certain that would address income inequality in a large way.

As you have pointed out there are fewer blue collar jobs, especially low skill, but some higher skill as well.

Automation is leading to fewer numbers with each passing year.

There will still be plumbers etc. But how many more does the U.S. need vs what is the case now?

I have no idea, but off-hand I'm thinking 5,000 more plumbers, 500 of those in any given year is unlikely to move the needed on income inequality all that much.

I would suggest that there needs to be both more access to higher skill/wage employment, which means better primary/secondary education, and no undue barriers to tertiary [[post-secondary) education.

As you also note, some people are not academically inclined, and its likely their future rests of what are seen as lower skill jobs, which aren't at immediate danger of automation.

Those would be customer-service jobs in retail to some degree [[cashiers will be automated out to a large degree, but 'help' isn't that likely to be.

Similar jobs in call centres and the like will be around a bit longer too. Those jobs need to pay better.