If I were President, my primary focus would be on restricting the ways we make people do anything economically.

I’m in favor of free markets, aka people doing that they choose, not what I make them do.

Fund a Top Gun style movie only about carpenters, plumbers, and HVAC guys. ;)

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• Government grants/scholarships for skilled trades predicted by federal employment office to have a shortfall in either workers or colleges in the near future.
• Federal standardization of all education (if this isn’t the case already) to simplify importing workers out of state
• Increased unemployment benefits for trades to ease off-season/low demand periods and make the career more attractive
• grade-school/high-school and general media propaganda to improve public opinion of ‘grunt workers’

or do absolutely nothing and let the free market figure it out like we’re told it will

Cut war funding

Increase education funding

Raise taxes on the billionaire class

Universal healthcare and supporting trade unionization expansion.

Create a federal school grading metric that puts education in skilled trades on the same level as college readiness. I would also set up a metric that adjusts student test score on ratings to include the economic & familial conditions of the students and improvements.

That way, schools are incentivized to put students into the trades the same way as putting students in college.

I would have one of my political allies propose a bill that would fund universal secondary education, then when it is inevitably shot down, I would use my newly granted immunity to have anyone thay voted against it very publicly removed then I would have an ally propose a constitutional amendment creating public education and removing presidential immunity. Then I would resign, and my vice president would pardon me, then my vice president would push a bill, preventing the president from being pardoned for crimes commited* while in office.

Civil Construction programs.

Basically military-like program for infrastructure. Sign up for 4 years, we’ll train you in an in demand trade, put you through the apprenticeship and pay you the whole time. Then send you to build infrastructure and work in construction around the country. Any out of region jobs would include housing.

Cities, counties, states, and federal government would be required that x% of all government construction projects are to be done by this civilian construction program.

At gunpoint.

Not directly to your question, but I dislike this NPR article very much.

Mwandjalulu dreamed of becoming a carpenter or electrician as a child. And now he’s fulfilling that dream. But that also makes him an exception to the rule. While Gen Z — often described as people born between 1997 and 2012 — is on track to become the most educated generation, fewer young folks are opting for traditionally hands-on jobs in the skilled trade and technical industries.

The entire article contains a buried classist assumption. Carpenters have just as much a reason to study theater, literature, or philosophy as, say, project managers at tech companies (those three examples are from PMs that I’ve worked with). Being educated and a carpenter are only in tension because of decisions that we’ve made, because having read Plato has as much in common with being a carpenter as it does with being a PM. Conversely, it would be fucking lit if our society had the most educated plumbers and carpenters in the world.

NPR here is treating school as job training, which is, in my opinion, the root problem. Job training is definitely a part of school, but school and society writ large have a much deeper relationship: An educated public is necessary for a functioning democracy. 1 in 5 Americans is illiterate. If we want a functioning democracy, then we need to invest in everyone’s education for its own sake, rather than treat it as a distinguishing feature between lower classes and upper ones, and we need to treat blue collar workers as people who also might wish to be intellectually fulfilled, rather than as a monolithic class of people who have some innate desire to work with their hands and avoid book learning (though those kinds of people need also be welcomed).

Occupations such as auto technician with aging workforces have the U.S. Chamber of Commerce warning of a “massive” shortage of skilled workers in 2023.

This is your regular reminder that the Chamber of Commerce is a private entity that represents capital. Everything that they say should be taken with a grain of salt. There’s a massive shortage of skilled workers for the rates that businesses are willing to pay, which has been stagnant for decades as corporate profits have gone up. If you open literally any business and offer candidates enough money, you’ll have a line out the door to apply.

If I were president, I’d make skilled trades more appealing by focusing on a few key changes:

First, we need to modernize the way we train for these jobs. For example, in fields like carpentry or plumbing, apprenticeships could be more flexible, letting you learn at your own pace or even online for certain parts. Imagine learning advanced techniques through video tutorials and then applying them in real-world projects. This way, the training fits better with our digital lifestyles and makes these careers feel more relevant.

To make it easier to start in these fields, I’d also push for financial support, like scholarships specifically for trade schools, and offer tax breaks to companies that hire apprentices. These incentives could be tied directly to projects that matter, like renewable energy and sustainable construction, helping to reduce carbon footprints by using innovative and eco-friendly building practices.

We should also use social media to its full potential. Think about how day-in-the-life videos of young electricians or carpenters could change perceptions. Sharing stories on platforms like Instagram and TikTok can show that these careers are not only practical but also creative and impactful. It’s about shifting the narrative from “just a job” to “a way to make a difference.”

The market is taking care of itself - the article appears to be concerned that the relatively cheap jobs are not being filled at the previous going rate. I work in the trades, and average wage has gone up 40% in 10 years, and everyone is still hurting for new electricians, so this wage growth will increase for the foreseeable future. Classrooms are full of students seeing those wages… the market is taking care of itself.

A large disincentive for the trades is the heat of the south, and the lower barrier to entry of those states is evident in the construction standards and output. Still wages will have to increase there, or work won’t get done.

A lot of these articles pine for people willing to work at the previous low wage for a position, and much good may that do them.

I would kill the ones that are hired now.

Good to see Kamala Harris posting on Lemmy