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Show Vocational Study: Where The Action 1$ And some areas are begging for trained personnel to meet needs. "We could place 100 machinists if we had them and a welder after training could get $20-$24,000," he says, noting teachers are leaving that profession pro-fession "in droves" in the Uinta Basin oil region, for instance, because of higher pay prospects. FACED WITH these job prospects, vocational enrollments have grown at relatively rela-tively modest rates from 15.2 percent nine years ago to about 22 percent in the 1979-80 school year. The funding share has grown from 10.1 percent to 16.4 percent. "Despite this positive trend," the state "Issues and Illusions" report says, "the State Vocational Advisory Council states 'there is still a major imbalance; the expenditure ex-penditure change is lagging behind the enrollment en-rollment data and the current needs of students, stu-dents, as well as the needs of business and industry.'" By TOM BUSSELBERG KAYSVILLE It'sgetting harder and harder for college graduates to find jobs while the wave of the future appears to be in vocationally-oriented jobs. THAT WORD comes from Jack Shell. Davis Area Vocational Center director. And while someone in that position might be expected to lean in that direction, he's backed by studies and projections indicating indicat-ing the vocationally-trained will find the most jobs waiting. "We as Utahns should really start considering con-sidering looking at vocational education as a means of training for our young people, unemployed and under-employed adults," tie said, using data from the report, "Utah 1981 Issues and Illusions" from the State Planning Coordinator to Gov. Scott Mathe-son's Mathe-son's office. IT SAYS: "One of the primary challenges chal-lenges of managing growth in the 1980 s lies in the provision of a trained workforce which will satisfy the demands of new and existing Utah industries. Statistics compiled com-piled by Utah Job Service indicate that by 1985, more than 565,000 of the state's projected pro-jected 842,510 jobs will require some kind of vocational-technical education." That's nearly 70 percent. Mr. Shell says, . noting vocational education programs aren't growing fast enough to meet such demands. "Funding hasn't kept up with higher education. We've got to change our concept. The guy who works with his hands is just as important as a thinker." "EMPLOYMENT patterns and job opportunities demand a higher priority for vocational education. When post-secondary post-secondary expenditures are compared with employment patterns, a major mismatch between students completing programs and job opportunities is observable," the report continues. "In 1979-80, Job Service estimates 107.179 were employed in jobs requiring more than a high school diploma but less than a four-year degree (vocational jobs); and 83,624 were employed in jobs requiring at least a four-year degree (professional jobs)." BUT FUNDING patterns hardly reflected that with $13.6 million in 1979-80 going for vocational and technical post-secondary education, $44.5 million for professional-level professional-level jobs and $23 million for liberal arts. Perhaps the biggest need is for an attitude atti-tude change by Americans, Mr. Shell says, noting these words from Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson's National Advisory Council on Vocational Education: "At the very heart of our problem is a national attitude that vocational education is designed for somebody some-body else's children. We have nurtured the idea that the only good education is a liberal education capped by four years of college. "THIS IDEA, transmitted by our values, our aspirations and our silent support is snobbish, undemocratic and a revelation of why schools fail so many student," it continued, con-tinued, noting fewer than one in five jobs in this decade are projected to require a four-year four-year degree. CURRENTLY, a college education costs about $3,000-plus per year and after four years that investment reaches $12,000, he explains. After that, the average graduate can expect to start at $15,000 a year. "Compare that if you go to work and get into an evening vocational training program prog-ram for four years," Mr. Shell continues. Usually, entrants start at about 55 percent of final salary as apprentices, or at possibly $11,000. But by the time they're done in four years, they could be earning $14 an hour in the heating and air conditioning field, for instance. MOST JOBS after four years of on-the-job training will bring $20,000 and could go up to $25,000. "It's a lot easier to get a job in vocational areas. You can get a job with entry skills" and go from there. Mr. Shell explains, adding, "the better the student, the better the chance." |