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When I was a kid growing up in the 1950s, the far-off world of today was filled with wonders to come. Homes would be heated by nuclear-powered boilers and, thanks again to nuclear energy, electricity would be too cheap to meter. People would be getting around in flying cars. Robots would do away with...

This Covid pickle we’re in has cost many jobs and disrupted many businesses. Think of all the restaurants that have gone under or are barely getting by, and all their bartenders, servers and other food service workers who have been laid off or working diminished hours. How have the skilled trades fared...

A huge demand exists for people in the trades, especially the skilled trades like HVAC, electrical, plumbing, etc. Almost every trade employer cites a shortage of workers as one of the main problems facing the business. Pay scales are high and going up. The Bureau of Labor Statistics(BLS)show average...

Even the stormiest clouds can have silver linings. I can’t think of many good things coming out of the Covid pandemic, but there is one that may be applicable to some of you reading this. College and university campuses across the country have shut down. Some are trying to conduct business as usual...

The coronavirus pandemic has brought our country – the world in fact – to its knees in a way almost nobody alive has witnessed in our lifetimes. Too many people are getting sick and dying, and our economy is facing its biggest challenges since the Great Depression. Businesses everywhere are shutting...

It was an amazing growth streak. Colleges and universities in the United States had steady and solid growth in attendance figures for an amazing 375 years. According to information assembled by the Wall Street Journal the number of students who attended college has risen from only thousands back in 1636...

Do a web search on “skilled trade shortage” and you will be directed to scores of articles detailing the dire situation not only in our country, but throughout the western world. For instance, this survey from the United Kingdom shows that for the 7th consecutive year the skilled trades were ranked...

College dropout rates are higher than you think. The number of students who haven’t completed the courses require to graduate are higher than you might believe, as well. If there’s any good news to this scenario, it’s that both dropout and non-completion rates are improving. Still, the National...

The high cost of a traditional four-year college degree has created a growing student loan problem. The struggle to pay off this debt after graduating from college has a trickle-down effect that is becoming so evident in certain areas that it’s drawn the attention of the federal government. At the...