Can California Convince Teens to Work in Construction?

There used to be a simple script for success: "Go to school, go to college, get a degree, make money." Now student debt has skyrocketed, jobs are hard to find, and students worry that A.I. could upend entire careers. "I don’t think there’s a perfect American dream anymore," one student says.

"Like you can barely find jobs nowadays." California is responding by expanding hands-on trade programs in public schools. Faced with a construction labor shortage, the state doubled a grant in 2021 for classes like carpentry and electrical work so students who do not pursue a four-year college have other options.

Many students arrive in these classes having never used tools, and almost none have used a power tool before. Some students say the classes changed their plans. "I realize now that I want to become an electrician," one student notes, and "we had somebody come and talk to our class about electricians and can still make $200,000 a year." Still, working with your hands carries stigma for older generations and families who push college.

california, construction, trade programs, vocational education, student debt, labor shortage, carpentry, electrical work, public schools, state grant