AGENDA / BRIDGING THE SKILLS GAP
 What is the skills GAP
 How did we get here / cause and effect
 Overview of employment opportunities.
 Teach a Man to Fish / Self Confidence!!
 Not the Prom Queen / Sexy doesn’t last..
 Solutions for a solid life long career.
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WHAT IS THE SKILLS GAP
As I understand it, it's where
particular types of workers are
in short supply, or an employee
or workforce is identified as
lacking in particular skills.
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WHAT IS THE SKILLS GAP
Mike Rowe
Of Discovery Channel’s
Dirty Jobs
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HOW DID WE GET HERE / CAUSE AND EFFECT
So how “DID” we get here?
In our zeal to promote higher education we place a much greater
value on a degree, than we do a career. We neglected to show
the benefits and value of post secondary technical and
vocational education.
What are some of the contributing causes?
At its core, the skills gap is an education issue.
I have no empirical evidence but “I” believe Guidance Counselors
are now and always have been a big proponent of Higher
Education, at the expense technical and vocational training.
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HOW DID WE GET HERE / CAUSE AND EFFECT
For the longest time our students
have been told they needed to work
smart not hard and get a four year
education if they wanted to succeed.
As Mike said, “there’s nothing bad
about four year degree, if you have
the time and money to pursue it”.
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HOW DID WE GET HERE / CAUSE AND EFFECT
But statistics tell us that 80% of
graduating seniors wont make it
through the second year.
We need to reach out to these
students and show them the Value
of technical or vocational education
And if they work smart and hard the
rewards are limitless. $$$$$$$
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HOW DID WE GET HERE / CAUSE AND EFFECT
1. Baby Boomers are retiring in unprecedented numbers. The
generations that followed the baby boom were smaller so the
sheer number of workers available is smaller, and those
remaining may not currently have sufficient literacy or
communications skills that will allow them to enter a craft.
2. Employers tell us that they are seeking candidates with
experience. This creates two issues: First, technology and the
world of work change so rapidly that it is difficult to find
employees with experience in emerging technologies and work
practices. Second, if educational institutions, employers, and
individuals aren’t keeping up with these changes, the workforce
will be left behind.
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HOW DID WE GET HERE / CAUSE AND EFFECT
1. It isn’t just individual organizations or sectors that feel the
consequences of the skills gap: Communities, Regions, and
States pay a heavy price for not being able to equip workers
with the right skills for critical jobs
2. Schools tend to fund programs because they appear to be an
emerging technology, The “If you build it they will come” theory.
This often producing graduates with skills sets that aren’t
regionally in demand. Completely overlooking the basic
technologies and trades that are “critical in todays society”.
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HOW DID WE GET HERE / CAUSE AND EFFECT
Finally, there may be “infrastructure” issues contributing to the
mismatch. Many potential employees struggle with issues such as
transportation and affordable child care. Others might not live
where the jobs are and can’t afford or are unwilling to relocate.
All of this, when combined with an institutional push for no child to
be left behind, and a degree for every child,
Leaves us with this Skills Gap.
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QUESTION AND ANSWER BREAK
How many of you flew here?
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QUESTION AND ANSWER BREAK
How many of you drove here?
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QUESTION AND ANSWER BREAK
How many of you have been
downstairs to the Casino?
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QUESTION AND ANSWER BREAK
How many of you own a home?
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QUESTION AND ANSWER BREAK
How many of you work
in a school?
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QUESTION AND ANSWER BREAK
What do all these have in common?
They are all Heated and Air Conditioned
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OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
 Where’s the Gap going to be?
 Middle- and High-skill jobs comprise the largest gaps.
 The term Middle skills describe highly specialized
mechanical, technical, and production careers that may
require industry or government certification but not
necessarily a bachelor’s degree.
 Growing middle-skills industries such as construction,
manufacturing, and healthcare are facing the most
significant skills shortages.
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OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
 BLS (Bureau of Labor and Statistics) projects that nearly half
(about 45 percent) of all job openings between 2004 and 2014
will be in middle-skill occupations.
 Most of the new jobs will require technical training with some
sort of credentials or certification.
 The dirty little secret is that the bulk of ALL NEW jobs are in
the Skilled Crafts & Trades (HVAC Mechanical & Electrical).
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OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
 According to the BLS (Bureau of Labor and Statistics), 20% of all jobs
require a Bachelor's degree or higher.
 If we do the math, that means that 80% of all jobs don’t require that
degree
 The interesting figure is that 67% of all jobs require some kind of
post secondary training preferably with credentials (Industrial
Association or Government certification) usually offered by a third
party or industry itself.
 This is where we come in: Trade / Vocational Schools, Technical,
Community and Private colleges
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OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
OCCUPATIONAL GROUPS: REPLACEMENT NEEDS AND EMPLOYMENT GROWTH
Projected Growth for 2010-20
37.4%
65.6%
Job opening due to
growth
Job openings due to
replacement
62.6%
34.4%
All Occupations
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
HVAC Mechanics and
Installers
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OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

According to the BLS (Bureau of Labor and Statistics), the
unemployment rate for the month of March 2014 ranges from
2.6% in North Dakota to 9.2% in Rhode Island.

That’s a national average of almost 7% but those numbers are
skewed. It should be around 19% when you count the people
who have stopped looking and under-employed.

But the good news is the BLS (Bureau of Labor and Statistics)
says, that nationally the unemployment rate for the HVAC
industry is statistically “ZERO”.
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NOT THE PROM QUEEN / SEXY DOESN’T LAST
 One of the biggest requests Hampden Engineering gets, as a
training equipment manufacture is, what do you have that we can
use to attract students to our HVAC programs? To (set the hook)
for those of you who fish.
 What we hear is, HVAC just isn’t a Sexy career choice
 Here's a NEWS FLASH for you, HVAC is NOT the Prom Queen of
occupations, by any stretch of the imagination.
 Your hands are going get dirty, its hot in the summer, cold in the
winter, and the hours are long,
Its just not SEXY…
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NOT THE PROM QUEEN / SEXY DOESN’T LAST
 I don’t think I’m busting anyone's bubble here, by saying SEXY
DOESN’T LAST….. “I’m a perfect example”
 I am not the Pretty Boy Toy my wife married 25 years ago. But she
didn't marry me because I was pretty. At least I don’t think so. If she
did she chose poorly.. And when you choose poorly with a career it
can be very costly.
 I remember a time when we were all going to be computer
programmers. (back then it meant punching holes in cards)
 Then we were going to make semi-conductors, then electronics
technicians, then computer repair, then wind technicians, video
gamers, now app designers.
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NOT THE PROM QUEEN / SEXY DOESN’T LAST
 During this march of time and so called sexy careers, the basic
trades (HVAC, Mechanical, Electrical, Construction) have always
been there, Just Overlooked!
 Unfortunately NOW there looked at as some kind of educational
consolation prize. And that view is monumentally wrong….
 these crafts are now and always have been cutting edge.
 And when you look at HVAC, its actually many crafts in one
(Heating, Air Conditioning, Plumbing, Electrical, Mechanical) its
kinda the mother of all crafts…
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NOT THE PROM QUEEN / SEXY DOESN’T LAST
 Lately, all the talk has been of “STEM” (science, engineering,
technology & math), stem this stem that.
 The federal government says it’s committed to what “they”
call STEM programs. And the funding is funneled that way.
 Well, here are some STEM facts for you hang on to,
 Programs like HVAC and other skilled Crafts deal with
Engineering Level Math, Sciences and Technology on a
daily basis.
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NOT THE PROM QUEEN / SEXY DOESN’T LAST
 These programs aren’t advertised this way, but students
are educated and trained in the practical application of
engineering disciplines.
 Areas like Fluid Flow, Heat & Mass Transfer, Thermal
Dynamics to mention a few.
 Then there is the “Math”: Algebra, Trigonometry,
Calculus. And don’t forget the Physics…
 So I think that STEM is a very big part of these crafts and
its time to let everyone know it. Don’t you?
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POP QUIZ
BY SHOW OF HANDS
Who knows what’s
going on here
Correct Answer
It’s a Blower Door
Pressure Test
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POP QUIZ
BY SHOW OF HANDS
When was the first air conditioner used?
1902
Who invented it?
Willis Carrier
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TEACH A MAN TO FISH / SELF CONFIDENCE
When it comes to learning a trade, whether vocational or
technical, I can only speak for myself. I will proudly defend
my vocational education. “It was a GIFT” It has given me the
knowledge, tools and self-confidence to succeed in life.
At the very least, knowing that I will only be unemployed if I
WANT to be.
At its best knowing that my work has value, in fact all work
has value.
When you teach a man to fish, he can provide for himself,
his family, his community. In that, there is no greater
satisfaction…
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SOLUTIONS FOR A SOLID LIFE LONG CAREER
OK, so what have we learned here today?
1. "I” am supremely self confident. (and will never be unemployed)
2. That I am no longer the Pretty Boy Toy my wife married
25 years ago… Confident yes… Pretty NO…
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SOLUTIONS FOR A SOLID LIFE LONG CAREER
1. 80% of all jobs do not require a Degree.
2. That traditional Trades will never be out of style.
3. That guidance counselor are not necessarily our friends and
need to be Educated on the Value of Skilled Trades.
4. We need to look at the value we place on the service trades.
5. We need to form strong alliances with local and national
industries.
6. We need to get then involved on advisory committees and
listen to what they say and what they're asking for.
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SOLUTIONS FOR A SOLID LIFE LONG CAREER
1. We need to keep workforce training, modular, short and
layered, with stackable credentials and a pathway to a
Degree if they wish to pursue it..
2. Weather its workforce or the credit side, Our Job is to
produce a product that is valued and needed by the
Community (as in Community College), and if “WE”
don’t pay attention to the basic critical needs of the
community, We all will suffer the consequences of this
Skills Gap.
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SOLUTIONS FOR A SOLID LIFE LONG CAREER
So as I close I would like to point out few things about the
Skills Gap
1. Even with record unemployment, employers are looking
for help. The right help with the right skills.
2. The Skilled Trades will have the one of the highest
growth rates when it comes to new jobs. In fact all jobs
3. That these jobs Cannot be Outsourced or shipped
overseas. “They are Live, Local and Well Paid”
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SOLUTIONS FOR A SOLID LIFE LONG CAREER
In closing I’d like you all to remember this quote
from a man that had over 300 Dirty Jobs.
“There is nothing more important to our country
than Skilled Labor.
Not all knowledge comes from college, but Skill is
a matter of degree.”
Mike Rowe
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SOLUTIONS FOR A SOLID LIFE LONG CAREER
If we can’t fill this Skills
Gap, this could be the
Technology in our future.
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I sincerely thank you for your
attention
If there are any questions, see us in the
Hampden Engineering Booth