To Close The Skills Gap, We All Need To Empower Vocational Educators

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Luke Spohinos

March 2, 2022

Luke Sophinos is the Founder and CEO of CourseKey, a software platform provider supporting trade and vocational schools across the U.S. 

Most people are surprised to learn that there are more unfilled manufacturing jobs than the more often-discussed labor gap among software developers. There’s a massive shortage of qualified tradespeople. Even the Biden infrastructure plan, now funded to the tune of over $1 trillion, is short the necessary number of workers (paywall) to actually undertake the work. From truck drivers to phlebotomists, the U.S. faces a massive skills gap in the blue-collar jobs that make our economy function.

That skills gap won’t shrink by itself — quite the opposite. Demand for blue-collar labor is growing. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that many blue-collar occupations will see significant growth, measured by the number of new job openings, through 2030. These include wind turbine service technicians (68%), solar panel installers (52%), restaurant cooks (49%) and wood model makers (38%).

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