By: Copeland Jacobs, Contributing Writer
copeland@thewoodrufftimes.com
Picture yourself as a newly minted degree-holding college graduate stepping into the workplace for the first time. You hold a document confirming the things you have learned and the ways you have grown at the university, your ears still ringing with promises of a high-paying job the instant after you receive the diploma.
Eventually, disillusionment sets in and sets in deeply. Getting a job with only a vague diploma to your name is immeasurably more difficult than the college career advisors’ rosy picture, and at worst, you’ll be left feeling high and dry with a very fancy piece of paper bearing your name in big letters collecting dust.
You might feel regret and buyer’s remorse for your costly time at college. You might question if there are any alternatives to the road you took and wonder why you weren’t informed earlier when the knowledge could’ve made a difference.
According to a CNBC article, trades are undergoing a resurgence as young jobseekers look away from college for future opportunities. The article focused on one young welder who extolled the benefits of trade work, especially compared to the engineering jobs his former classmates hold.
According to the CEO of the Western Welding Academy, trades aren’t so much growing as young jobseekers are becoming aware of a large job market outside of college. However, the same article mentioned a gap in the trade workforce due to high schools emphasizing college as the preferred path after graduation from the 1980s to the 2010s.
For upstate South Carolina, the Master Skills Center offers young people a different path than college to success. Director of the Master Skills Center, Josh Caggiano, explained the details.
Caggiano said the center originated at a Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment four years ago, an event involving the Chamber of Commerce and serving Spartanburg, Cherokee, and Union County. There it was decided classes in HVAC, barbering, and plumbing should be offered.
“HVAC is my most popular class,” Caggiano said.
More recently, the Master Skills Center has expanded its roster of classes to include heavy equipment operation. Soon, students will be able to learn how to use heavy equipment in a simulator. As Caggiano noted, there’s a lot of heavy equipment in the upstate.
The Master Skills Center, Caggiano said, benefits the people and businesses of the region. He hopes to see more students involved in the barbering program, which is presently seeing its first class of 20 barbers.
Author: Tracy Sanders
