Daniel Donovan at Skillit Stacker reports that for decades, the dominant story about the Skilled Trades in America has been a story of decline: Shop class has disappeared from high schools; Career Counselors pushed four-year degrees; and Parents quietly steered kids away from work boots and toward laptops. The cultural script was simple: Trades were what you did if college didn't work out. Now, that script is unraveling - and faster than the industry seems to realize. A new national survey from Skillit of 1,000 U.S. adults conducted in April found that 47% of Americans have at some point considered a career in the Skilled Trades. Most never told anyone, and then they did nothing, because nobody told them where to start. That silent demand collides with a workforce crisis that's getting louder by the month. JLL projects roughly 2.1 million Skilled Trades positions could go unfilled by 2030, with potential economic losses reaching $1 trillion annually, according to U.S. Department of Education estimates. The supply gap is staggering: Last year, nearly 600,000 jobs were posted for major Skilled Trades positions while only about 150,000 new Workers entered through Apprenticeships. The interest is there, but what's missing is the on-ramp.

To Read This Apprenticeship And Training Labor News Story In Its Entirety, Go To: Nearly half of America has quietly considered the trades. What’s stopping them? | Raleigh News & Observer