The decline of the way Americans value skilled labor, which we've chronicled extensively on Construction Citizen, can be seen in different ways all around us.Louis Uchitelle makes the point brilliantly in a New York Times article in which he describes how hardware stores are having to find ways to cater to people who don't know how to “do it themselves”, so to speak.  Even signs adorning the walls and aisles at a Home Depot serve as instructions for simple things like how to fix a faucet or replace light bulbs.A question often asked by citizens and politicians alike: “Why don't we make anything in America anymore?”Uchitelle argues that the decline in American craftsmanship runs parallel to that of our manufacturing sector. He points out that in the 1950s, manufacturing accounted for 28 percent of GDP (gross domestic product).  That has now fallen to 12 percent.  

A great article in a small publication points out that employers around the Great State aren’t just anticipating a labor shortage, they’re already feeling it.Community Impact Newspaper reports that employers are already having trouble finding people for jobs like plumbing, pipefitting, electricians and machinists.  At a recent meeting of business leaders with Texas Comptroller Susan Combs, a man who manufactures furniture in San Marcos put it bluntly: “I couldn’t find an employee in this town if my life depended on it.”In the article, Combs remarks on welding jobs in Texas:  “Right now you can’t hire a welder. We’re about 500 to 1,000 [employees] short.”

The fact that more than 12 million Americans are without work while employers simultaneously face a labor shortage has become a fascination for me.  Every time I write about it, people ask “How is this even possible?”Employers are struggling right now to fill jobs that require skilled (or talented) workers,according to a survey by Manpower Group.  Half the employers told Manpower they have trouble finding people to fill positions.American companies aren’t the only ones with this problem.  Thirty-five percent of companies worldwide said they have real difficulty finding talented individuals to fill the jobs they’re advertising.

The debate over whether every child in Texas and America should be on a track to go to a four-year university is heating up. The arguments for and against have been passionate as youth unemployment hits a 60-year high and student-loan debt approaches $1 trillion (and default rates are rising quickly).“These hard economic times have made it even more difficult for student borrowers to repay their loans, and that’s why implementing education reforms and protecting the maximum Pell grant is more important than ever,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.Given all this, more people are asking whether the “college-for-all” mantra is having an effect that amounts to the opposite of what was originally intended.Forbes contributor Tara Tiger Brown asks: “What is America going to do without skilled workers who can build and fix things?”  She laments the “death of shop class”  in California and around the nation.  She writes:“There is no training for teachers going through university to learn how to teach shop.  This trend isn’t limited to California, according to John Chocholak who has testified in front of California State Assembly and Congress on the subject of shop class.