Last November witnessed a record 4.5 million Americans either quitting or changing their jobs, according to Labor Department data. Job openings improved slightly that month to 10.6 million, down from 11 million a month prior.

Mike Rowe, narrator of Fox Business Network’s “How America Works,” told Fox Business’ Stuart Varney that this will “impact every single American who shares my addiction to smooth roads, indoor plumbing, affordable electricity and so forth.”

Jobs within the trades are being disincentivized, and part of that is the stigma long attached to “shop jobs.” However, these are the jobs building roads and houses, fixing power lines and repairing your indoor plumbing and electrical systems.

In another interview, with Salary.com, Rowe says, “America is in the midst of a skilled-labor shortage, as hundreds of thousands of available blue-collar jobs go unfilled because workers lack the necessary training.” But even more upsetting, Rowe said, is the attitude of many Americans that the trades are merely a last-ditch alternative when college doesn’t work out.

In fact, plenty of skilled-labor jobs pay very well – like welding, plumbing and electrical. Part of the problem, Rowe says, is that “we need to explain to kids that working with your hands, learning a skill that’s in demand can still lead to prosperity.”

I have a degree in electrical and mechanical technology from Central Maine Community College and have enjoyed putting my skills to use the past 22 years for a medical device company here in Maine. Work is rewarding, to me.

Kevin Landry
Lewiston

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