Signing Day Is The New Draft Day...For Trade Careers

Between all these retiring baby boomers and an entire generation that knows how to quote Foucault but has no flippin’ idea how to screw in a lightbulb, let alone work with their hands… trade careers are very short on workers. 

💣Like, shorter than Jon Tapper's fuse on Bar Rescue.  

So how are we supposed to get these underwater basket weavers hyped about HVACs and u-bends?

💡Enter: “Signing day!”  A day where graduating high schoolers are honored for choosing a career path in a trade… NFL draft style. 

 

So is it working? Here’s Five Fast Facts on Signing Day :

  1. 📃 Sign Me Up - More than 1,000 students from 33 different states across the country participated in this year's Signing Day on May 5th.
  2. 💲 Massive Money Commitments - Big name employers are getting on board with signing day. We’re talking companies like Chevron-Phillips Chemical, Dow, Huntsman, and Vencorex. These organizations are committed to hiring and training high school graduates right out the gate.
  3. 🚫 College Shmollege - For the first time in many, many years, more high school students are thinking about skipping college for a trade career. A recent poll shows students' plans to head to universities declined 20% in the last two years, down to 51%, from 71%. 
  4. 👷🔧Getting Technical - More than a third of high school students say their path to success involves technical education, not college. This comes after 28% of students said the recent pandemic made them rethink their post-high school plans. (Thanks 2020? Maybe?)
  5. 💭We Need Trade Workers - The majority of jobs in our country (53%) are actually called “middle-skill jobs” which require some after-high-school education but NOT a four-year degree. That’s why events like Signing Day that promote the trades are so important.

🔥Bottom line: Although there's been a lot of worry lately when it comes to trade careers, it seems like the younger generations know what's up. Let's continue to encourage them to choose these in-demand careers that come with both serious job security and great pay.  They’ll  help boost our economy, make our country stronger, and support opportunities for American workers!

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