Part 1/12:
The Crisis of American Manufacturing and the Stigma Surrounding Vocational Careers
The U.S. faces a daunting forecast for its manufacturing sector, with predictions of over 2 million unfilled jobs by 2030. This shortage is already impacting crucial trades, where more than half a million vacancies exist for builders and plumbers alone. Surprisingly, despite these alarming statistics, 76% of high school students still opt for college, often not for better career prospects, but to evade the stigma associated with vocational schooling. This trend raises a significant question: how did the vital backbone of American industry come to be so disregarded in society?