More than three-quarters of voters strongly support increasing funding to expand classes in construction, welding, advanced manufacturing, and other skilled trades that offer students strong career opportunities LOS ANGELES (March 21, 2024) – A new survey found a supermajority of voters, parents, and students want high schools in Los Angeles County to reestablish and invest … Continued
Strengthening the skilled trades teacher pipeline is essential to meeting the growing demand for high-quality skilled trades education. Below are a few examples of how some educators and communities are addressing the teacher pipeline challenge. Success Stories from Winners of the Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Prize for Teaching Excellence® West Hills, California: Transition Planning … Continued
On Dec 14, 2023, Fortune and Capital & Main each posted a piece written by Rick Wartzman, our longtime partner with the Harbor Freight Leadership Lab® and the co-president of Bendable Labs. The story, titled “College for All Had Failed American. Can It be Fixed?” is a comprehensive review of the forces that pushed the U.S. … Continued
In the past year, there has been strong momentum building around efforts to provide new hands-on opportunities for public high school students to learn about the skilled trades. With the United States facing a daunting shortage of skilled trades workers, it seems there is growing interest in rapidly expanding our ability to train the next … Continued
The pandemic has undoubtedly impacted student learning across the country. Emerging research shows the perspective that parents and students have has shifted. A recent national polling report conducted by EdChoice notably found: Twice as many teens are planning to attend an in-state technical school since the pandemic started. It was the largest positive shift in … Continued
February is Career Technical Education (CTE) Month, a time when we celebrate skilled trades education. There is obvious and growing momentum around CTE. Last month, U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona visited Ella T. Grasso Technical School, a skilled trades high school in his home state of Connecticut. “We have to start thinking about what career … Continued
At Harbor Freight Tools for Schools, we are committed to catalyzing greater support and investment in excellent skilled trades education in U.S. public high schools. Over the course of the past year, there has been more attention than ever focused on the skilled trades, specifically on how we will build a talented workforce capable of … Continued
By Blaire Ginsburg In the next five to 10 years, we expect to see a large wave of retirements from the skilled trades workforce. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projected a total employment growth of 370,700 positions in collective trades occupations* for 2019-2029. Yet there is no skilled trades field where current enrollment in … Continued
Two first-of-their-kind studies find broad, bipartisan support for high school trades education despite perceived stigma CALABASAS, Calif.—Americans across the political spectrum overwhelmingly support skilled trades education in high school, but school systems face major barriers in providing the courses that give students a path toward these essential, high demand careers, according to new research from … Continued