John Ratzenberger, still most famous as postman Cliff Clavin on Cheers, spoke recently at the Log Cabin, a banquet and meeting house in Holyoake Mass., to advocate the value of skilled trades.
Ratzenberger, speaking to a group of local businesses, lamented that skilled trades are getting left behind by society and discounted as a career option [...]

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So, if you believe some people we are now on our way out of the recession. The skilled trades job market seems to hum along as well as it ever has. A few recent news stories paint a picture of the present and future of skilled trades jobs.

The Guardian complains about government policy in the [...]

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The construction trades program at Fort Scott Community College got a little extra help last week.
The program had recently received a selection of Kobalt tools, part of the new Tough Tools for Cool Schools program. The program is a partnership between Lowe’s, Kobalt Tools and the Skills USA organization. The FSCC program is part of [...]

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The Penta Career Center is an excellent example of proper planning and execution that will hopefully inspire some of its students as they pursue careers in vocations and skilled trades.
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At a special day for Rhode Island high school guidance counselors, representatives of various careers were allowed to school the counselors in how to get kids excited about various career tracks including skilled trades and trade school.
Marine trades in particular relished the opportunity. Karl Nordstrom, representing New England Boatworks, and Wendy Mackie, serving as executive [...]

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There’s an excellent report on a summer camp in Canada that is giving kids hands-on training and technical skills. The Trades and Tech Camp at Uxbridge High School in a suburb of Toronto. The hands-on camp engages students in skills related to numeracy and technology, introducing and building skills in things such as AutoCad. On [...]

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According to findings of a recent survey by the Career College Association, nearly 50 percent of those surveyed called career and technical colleges the best alternative to four-year universities, well ahead of community colleges. Only 17 percent of those surveyed favored community college.
Although community colleges (typically averaging 3200 a year in student loans required are [...]

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There will be more than 250,000 job openings for skilled workers by 2016, uin the country of Canada alone. Construction Looking Forward, the fourth annual forecast of labour market trends, by the Construction Sector Council was unveiled at a press conference in Mississauga Ontario.
The report identifies over 30 occupations and trades with positions in [...]

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The number of buyouts, retirements and reduction of other costs will result in the Big Three carmakers recommencing hiring as early as this September says a report from the Center for Automotive Research, an Ann Arbor company. “The bleeding will stop,” says the report’s co-author, Kristin Dziczek.
Overall employment will drop but companies have been getting [...]

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A presidential candidate has finally weighed in on the need for trade schools in the US. Speaking in Pittsburgh this week, Hillary Clinton discussed the need for a longer range vision when it comes to jobs, the future of skilled trades in America and the need for more interest in trade schools.
A teacher from a [...]

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