College isn’t necessarily for everyone

College isn’t necessarily for everyone

In the minds of most educationists, the bridge between formal education and one’s career is tertiary education. The most common form in which tertiary education occurs in the United States is throughcolleges and universities that are found all over the country. Following the global financial crisis of 2008-2010, unemployment became a national crisis affecting hundreds of thousands of individuals. As the economy gets back on its feet it has been realized that there is a disconnect between the population and the skills required in the job market. The need for skills has led to an intense public debate concerning the direction to be taken with regard to tertiary studies. College is believed to increase a person’s quality of life but on the contrary, there are a number of tycoons who have become household names despite dropping out or not even making it to college.

The background of this article is a situation in which the number of young people dropping out of school and college is at an all-time high. The challenge with this is that it makes them unemployable in the mainstream white collar job market. This is the same situation that affects those whose grades deny them a chance to get into college or university. The current president, Barrack Obama is quoted to have been consistently emphasizing the need for increased funding of college and university education as well as an improvement of standards of high school programs so as to ensure a higher number of Americans getting into college and graduating with a degree. University courses often prepare the learners for a career in what are known as white collar jobs. These calls by the president and those who share the belief that he has in a college education have largely stifled the calls for, promotion and funding of vocational training programs which equip learners which technical skills that they can apply in the blue collar job market. Both schools of thought are appealing due to the arguments presented.

The article presents the cons of the president’s view point regarding the prioritization of a college education. The first problem of this point of view is that it completely negates the significance of vocational training. This is well captured in Rustigan’s quote “Although I applaud the president’s strong commitment to higher education, he is seriously neglecting the importance of vocational training in school.” Insisting on college programs that are largely academic is inconsiderate of the students whose strengths are less in the intellectual realm and more practical or technical (Rustigan, 2013).

A large number of young people are better at doing things with their hands than engaging on processes that require them to analyze and come up with solutions based on theoretical knowledge. This argument also dismisses those who are not interested in academic programs as lazy thus denying them a chance to prove themselves since they become demotivated about their interests or extracurricular strengths. As a result, the country is bound to have a severe shortage of skilled workers as a result of this stifling of the vocational education system. The situation of this shortage is aggravated by the fact that the existing workers are leaving the industry due to various life issues. The following statement illustrates this situation and looming shortage. “According to a growing number of demographers and labor experts, the United States soon will be experiencing a severe shortage of skilled workers. Blue-collar baby boomers are retiring, but schools aren’t preparing the next generation to take their place…” in short the country will have trouble finding mechanics, plumbers, welders and other skilled individuals due to the emphasis of college (Rustigan, 2013). Another con of college education is the fact that it leads the graduates to a crowded field due to limited vacancies unlike the blue collar industry that has a greater variety of opportunities that are rearing to be filled up by skilled labor that has received vocational training.

The fact that the number of increasing shop training programs coming up is an indication that the content of their training programs and this increases the chances of these graduates presenting the job market with fresh skills “I’m betting we would then start to see fewer dropouts and more young adults with a chance to become productive members of society”. The demand for high-school graduates who have attained vocational skills implies that there are more opportunities in the blue-collar field “The recent decline in vocational education flies in the face of the growing demand for both male and female high school graduates skilled in the fields of health, electronics, automotive, home improvement, wood and metalwork, culinary, green energy jobs and a vast number of technical support and repair services” (Rustigan, 2013).

There are however pros of people having a college education. The first of these is that upon completion, their immediate standing in society improves. This does not in any way affect the actual quality of an individual but it does a great deal in boosting their profile. This is largely sourced from the notion that those who fail to complete or get into college are lazy. This then means that those who complete their college education have a better chance of being counted as hardworking and responsible (Rustigan, 2013). This perspective on those who drop out is seen in the statement below “…As the cynics keep telling us, nothing can be done with these lazy, low-achieving slackers because the root causes are broken homes and lousy parenting.” Though prejudicial, these sentiments may actually increase the chances of those who complete their college studies.

Another benefit of one attaining a college degree is the fact that he or she gains decision making skills that expand their horizons. This is due to the fact that intellect cannot really be boxed into a specific field. This is unlike those who go through vocational training which equips them skills in a particular field. These then leads them to a career life confined to a specific industry since with a limited chance of mobility lest they retrain in a new field (Rustigan, 2013).

From the above analysis it appears that the tide is steadily turning against the prioritization of college education for all college graduates. This is largely due to the fact that this mindset and system in general is unfair to those who are not exactly apt for academic programs. A large number of these young people have undiscovered, ignored or stifled practical and technical skills that can be maximized through vocational training (Rustigan, 2013). Consequently, it is imperative that the government rethinks its strategies in as far as educational programs are concerned so as to open up the opportunities available to students and also ensure the economy has both intellectual and practical skills to maintain the white collar and blue collar sectors respectively.

Reference

Rustigan, M (2013)Mike Rustigan / College isn’t necessary for everyone. Atlantic City Press.

Retrieved from http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/opinion/commentary/article_f6b954df-eb8c-5981-b268-6e5aecc21584.html  on August 12, 2013

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