Worker shortage

[Old Doug]

Its a real mess starting with parents not making there kids to learn what can be gained by working then half of the kids DNA are wired not to ever want to see what working can do for them. Then when the ones that are on the fence about working or not get a crappy boss and that makes then go to the i hate work side of the fence on day one.

 

[kshansen]

There is a real labor shortage that is the result of a multitude of issues from the education system pushing all children into a college degree over the last 30 years to the gov't paying people to sit at home. It's a real problem for our entire Country that's going to take all of us as a society to fix.

I have no problem with education, but with the way too many people at the high school level steer students away from the trades. This has been a problem from at least back in the 1960's, when I was there! I'm sure many here have heard me bitch about that for a long time!

My older brother who has at least a masters degree and was in the education system himself complains about the same thing.

I can not imagine what it would be like to be looking at a college loan of $30,000 plus dollars the day you graduate and get hired by some company that will expect you to move across the country two or three times over a few years. That assumes you managed to get a degree in something that actually is of value to a company!

 

[Truck Shop]

. It's a real problem for our entire Country that's going to take all of us as a society to fix.

Agreed-The unfortunate side or truth/reality is shifts in culture such as hard times is usually
what it takes to cause said shift. I don't like the thought of rough times because it effects
those who are doing their best. Getting everyone on board to fix it is like herding cats, but
it would be nice if that happened.

 

[JD955SC]

There are many, many anecdotal stories of specific employers or employees that we can all retell, each with their own slant but that doesn't address the larger issue.

There is a real labor shortage that is the result of a multitude of issues from the education system pushing all children into a college degree over the last 30 years to the gov't paying people to sit at home. It's a real problem for our entire Country that's going to take all of us as a society to fix.

I would like to know why it’s considered OK for others to sit at home and not have to work a job while I have to work a physical job with the additional insult of having a good chunk of pay taken away and given to these slugs with the justification of “butbutbut life is hard!” Or “employers aren’t nice enough!”

because from my POV it’s really starting to look like near slavery with a few extra steps.

 

[CM1995]

I can not imagine what it would be like to be looking at a college loan of $30,000 plus dollars per year in school and have $120,000 of debt the day you graduate

I fixed that for you KS. We are working two projects on a local private 8-12 grade private school where the tuition is $25,000 a year. A major university 4 year bachelors degree will run $20-40K or more, a year.

 

[kshansen]

I fixed that for you KS. We are working two projects on a local private 8-12 grade private school where the tuition is $25,000 a year. A major university 4 year bachelors degree will run $20-40K or more, a year.

Well serves me right to go by a quick Google sear that showed this:

https://educationdata.org/average-student-loan-debt-by-year

 

[Truck Shop]

A privet college here in town {Whitman College} tuition is 53,420 a year ranked 79th in the 100 most expensive colleges.

 

[Carolina start up]

i got lucky and went to college on a pal grant for a degree I don't use that much and then through high school for welding which was useful thinking about going back again

 

[Truck Shop]

 

[AzIron]

Well you can bet hard times are coming if this situation doesnt start getting sorted out

Hunger is good when it makes a man work. It's going to he a culture shock for a large group of people when the grocery store wont have any food on the shelves cause the driver didn't deliver and the stock boy called in

The level of accustomed luxury of being removed from physical labor to survive has never been matched in history a civilized society becomes to complacent and falls from within my generation will see some of the roughest times this 100 years may have to offer and it will be self inflicted

 

[JD955SC]

Well you can bet hard times are coming if this situation doesnt start getting sorted out

Hunger is good when it makes a man work. It's going to he a culture shock for a large group of people when the grocery store wont have any food on the shelves cause the driver didn't deliver and the stock boy called in

The level of accustomed luxury of being removed from physical labor to survive has never been matched in history a civilized society becomes to complacent and falls from within my generation will see some of the roughest times this 100 years may have to offer and it will be self inflicted

Hard times create strong men
Strong men create good times
Good times create weak men
Weak men create hard times


We are at #3 and the idiots have shoved the throttle to full speed ahead and broken it off. Day to day life doesn’t create a lot of stress for me but the thought of what is coming does.

 

[JD955SC]

i got lucky and went to college on a pal grant for a degree I don't use that much and then through high school for welding which was useful thinking about going back again

If you have the opportunity to acquire any skills be it welding, machining, mechanic, electrical/electronic, HVAC, etc for cheaply get them. You will save yourself money in life, find better work opportunities (whether self employed or for an employer) have bargaining tools for leveraging pay, plus when it all collapses you will have skills to barter.

 

[DMiller]

Stopped in at local grocery for some odds and ends as ended the day yesterday, a late twenties kid was at the counter where the CC he was trying to use was declined. He was mad as his parents had shut him off, had no job and no income living off ‘the folks’. Gal at the register said he would snag a CC from the parents to buy a load of junk food and then go hide from them where they shut the cards all off(she is friend of that family).
Kid quit his last job as was not paying well enough!! He had just started with no skills at that job. Had a newer car until failed to keep up with payments and was repossessed, he did not understand how they could do that either. Is afoot with no income and no prospects.

 

[Tones]

CM1995, your comment about the education system is totally correct. The universities are very much to blame, firstly indoctrinating the teachers who then indoctrinated the children. Secondly it a money grab by the university managers so they can get their bonuses and to hell with society. Just follow the money.

 

[Randy88]

Not sure I believe the stats anymore, but the last time I looked, there was 80,000 plus jobs available in my state and over 55,000 on unemployment?? Unemployment is at an all time high, same for job openings and this is somehow good??

Now on the subject of trade schools, I've got kids that went through the trade schools, there are two year programs and four year programs, each offering a degree.

Anything involving using your hands and mind, are in high demand, you know actually do and think at the same time, problem solving is an almost unheard of term anymore.

There is such a shortage in four year trade school programs, many have been required to just shut those programs down completely. High schools push the main stream four year colleges, trade schools are not even mentioned, many high schools know nothing about the trade schools or that they even exist.

Now there's a joke floating around the internet where the comment is. My teacher told me if I didn't shape up, I'd end up being a garbage collector, but she never told me a garbage collector made more money per year than a she does. It was meant as a joke, but in all reality, its pretty close to the truth.

One of my kids gave up and quit a teaching job to get a job as a worker in a nursing home, why, because of the pay, her pay was much higher than her teaching job was and none of the BS to put up with, if she puts in some overtime, it far exceeded the teaching salary and she can have unlimited overtime at time and a half, the benefits were also much better at the nursing home. My comment was, you went and got a four year degree from a major university and went in debt to get a great paying job, only to end up working in a nursing home you could have done right out of high school and this is progress. Her comment to me was, if anyone would have told me upfront most basic jobs are now higher pay than those needing four year degree's, I'd have never gone to college.

I'm not sure how long this will last, partially due to covid, much to do with political BS, but yes right now certain area's are paying much higher wages and benefits than most any four year degree jobs can or will pay, mainly due to such shortages of available workers in those area's and how desperate they are needed.

 

[CM1995]

CM1995, your comment about the education system is totally correct. The universities are very much to blame, firstly indoctrinating the teachers who then indoctrinated the children. Secondly it a money grab by the university managers so they can get their bonuses and to hell with society. Just follow the money.

Here in the US the problem is exacerbated through the US gov't backing the student loans which opened the flood gates to predatory lending IMO. The Universities are drunk on this free flowing money and the students end up with $100-120K worth of debt upon graduation. How in the hell is a young person supposed to be successful starting out with that kind of debt?

Then on the other hand I am a firm believer in Buyer Beware however there are many people to blame in this mess that have profited off indebting high school graduates with flashy college presentations.

 

[kshansen]

High schools push the main stream four year colleges, trade schools are not even mentioned, many high schools know nothing about the trade schools or that they even exist.

This is nothing new! In 1965-6 when I was in highschool the local county school system started a trade school system. They had building trades, auto mechanics, auto body, nursing and a bunch of other courses right down to beautician classes.

Well this sounded great to me, NO! not the beautician classes!, the auto mechanic class or building trades. So I tried to sign up but was flat out told by the guidance counceler there were two problems. First these were three year courses and I only had two years befor I granduated and the kicker one was I was told I was too smart to take one of those types of classes!

Ok I might agree that the level of the classes being offered might have been too basic but did this counceler pivot me over in the direction of the two State run Tech. colleges not that far away? No never even hinted that there was such a place. To be honest I was not even aware that there were colleges that taught subjects other than things like math, science or liturature type stuff.

 

[Randy88]

Your pretty much on your own to research and figure out what tech college you want to go to and for what program, its always been that way. When I was in high school and asked about tech schools I was told, if you want to go that route, your on your own, we don't endorse them or acknowledge them in any way.

So I had to ask the guidance counselor where he went to college, so he willingly told me and then asked, why did I want to go there. I told him no not really if they gave him a degree and seeing how he's completely worthless, I'd though I'd avoid that college completely. Now I admit, this comment may have been part of the reason he did nothing to help me, but looking back, I think the outcome of his help would have been just as worthless with or without the comment.

 

[Tyler d4c]

Randy what you told him is almost as bad as what I told the principal one day when I was leaving to go to work on co-op from votech. It started with a f and he didn't look to pleased I left and never heard another word about it then about a year later he knocked up a substatute teach... how about that for example setting.

 

[Camshawn]

Part of the problem is that the collage/ university degree is only used to weed out applicants for some jobs. 20 yrs ago, my wife worked in a company that was hiring sales staff, anyone without a BA. was never considered. Why do you need a degree to sell? Some of my parents friends and our friends work/worked in sales without degrees. How does a degree from a collage or university make a better sales person? To me, the degree just makes the HR persons job easier. Cam