Ohio’s House of Representatives is considering an important new workforce development bill. The Community Connectors Workforce Program (HB 98) aims to jumpstart career opportunities for young Ohioans by connecting high school students with jobs and internships in the skilled trades. The bill additionally tasks high school-based program directors with helping students to develop the “soft skills” they will need as they enter the workforce directly out of high school.
The skilled trades offer young students a clear path to upward mobility—in fact, these jobs look increasingly promising. Demand for tradesmen is growing as the nation reshores its manufacturing base. Research also suggests that AI job loss will largely pass over the skilled trades even as it decimates white collar work. And if experience is a guide, America’s recent investment in immigration enforcement will place upward pressure on wages for tradesmen in the coming years.
This bill arrives at a pivotal moment when young Americans are increasingly turning away from the traditional four-year degree. It isn’t hard to see why. From 1980 to 2020, the inflation-adjusted cost of a bachelor’s degree (BA) increased by 180%. Mounting college costs have created a staggering $1.77 trillion in student debt. At the same time, the benefits of a college degree look increasingly tenuous: 30 to 37 percent of BAs and 40 percent of master’s degrees produce zero or negative returns on students’ educational investments.
Meanwhile, median salaries for electrical linemen and elevator repair technicians are $92,560, and $106,580 respectively. Median salaries approach six figures for some master tradesmen, including plumbers ($95,000+) and electricians ($90,000+). Other trades, including solar installers ($80,000+) and HVAC technicians ($78,000+) are not far behind.
The path to high-paying skilled trade work begins with a 1-6 year apprenticeship, a period in which tradesmen earn money as they develop their skills (unlike college students who incur debt for four or more years). An apprentice can advance to master after 9-10 years and potentially earn over twice the $40k-$42k early-career salaries (1-5 years post-graduation) for many BA holders.
The value of vocational and apprenticeship training is also attested to by research. For example, a 2018 examination of Ohio’s Registered Apprenticeship Program found program completion predicted 40% higher earnings. A 2016 study found high school students who completed career and technical education credits were less likely than their peers to be unemployed.
While a bachelor’s degree is a pathway, it is not the only pathway for upward mobility for students. As the nation moves beyond the outdated college-for-all paradigm, bills like Ohio’s are helping to lay the foundation for a new generation of prosperity and opportunity for the next generation. HB 98 contains the necessary tools to provide young Ohioans with a head start on these plentiful and lucrative jobs of the future.
What Ohio is doing should not be viewed in isolation. States across the country face the same shortage of skilled workers, from construction and manufacturing to energy and infrastructure. Trade schools and apprenticeship programs are essential not only for giving young people a debt-free path to a good life, but also for ensuring that America has the workforce it needs to stay competitive in a rapidly changing economy. By revaluing hands-on careers and creating pipelines between high schools and the trades, legislation like HB 98 offers a blueprint other states—and even Congress—would be wise to follow.
Christopher Schorr, PhD, is the director of the Higher Education Reform Initiative at the America First Policy Institute
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