There’s a Mike Rowe video mak- ing the rounds on social media that prompted me to write this letter as a follow-up to the April Editor Letter that addressed the ersatz “job shortage” in our country. In this recent 58-second video, which can be viewed at Rowe’s website at http://mikerowe. com/2017/05/quixotic-attempt-to- close-the-skills-gap/, Rowe asks the question, “Why do we only glamorize expensive colleges?” He shows covers of popular maga- zines that rank top colleges in the U.S. – but points out that NONE of these rankings ever include a trade school. His video notes that even though more students than ever are entering 4-year colleges, trade jobs account for 54% percent of the labor market. His video explains that over the next 10 years, 3.5 million trade jobs will need to be filled, but 2 million of those will go unfilled due to the skills gap. Every parent wants to be sure his or her child is well equipped to make it in the world in a fulfilling job that keeps them in good finan- cial health. And yet it is clear that a huge swath of opportunities are going unheeded, ignored and over- looked because they aren’t “col- lege” positions. And jobs available NOW don’t require incurring mas- sive debt from a four-year college. Maybe part of the evolution to greater respect towards trades- and crafts-people is to start referring to trade schools as “trade colleges” to get them on the radar of those high school students (and their parents) looking to take the best angle for the future. Rowe’s comment that trade schools are never mentioned in top colleges got me wondering, so I did a Google search for Top Trade Schools. There ARE resources out there, but they don’t get quite the attention, or seem as valued, as traditional college educations. Or it could be that young people, assessing their future opportuni- ties, don’t want to work with their hands, when technological devices have familiarized them with skills that are attached to keyboards and computer screens. A little of what I found follows. Trade schools seem to lean heav- ily on medical, dental, mechanical and computer careers, but some EDITOR’S LETTER Lesley A. Goddin “I wouldn’t wish any specific thing for any specific person – it’s none of my business. But the idea that a four-year degree is the only path to worthwhile knowledge is insane. It’s insane.” – Mike Rowe 12 TileLetter | June 2017