President Donald Trump recently suggested taking $3 billion away from Harvard to spend on trade schools, and one man has a plan for that kind of money.
Who better to wargame the spending of billions of dollars on trade schools than Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs fame? The mikeroweWORKS Foundation encourages young people to look at vocational and trade training the same way as other colleges and universities, something that traditional academia doesn’t do.
Rowe went over how he would like to see that kind of money spent.
“I would spend some of that money making a persuasive case for the jobs that actually exist. The problem, in my view, right now, isn’t too few Harvard grads — it’s a lack of enthusiasm for the trade schools,” he said. “I’m sure they’d welcome the money, but what exactly would they do with it to change the stigmas and stereotypes that have kept a whole generation of kids from exploring these careers? That’s what has to change if we want to close the skills gap and address the will gap.”
Vocational program enrollment is reportedly on the rise, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal in 2024.
“The number of students enrolled in vocational-focused community colleges rose 16% last year to its highest level since the National Student Clearinghouse began tracking such data in 2018. The ranks of students studying construction trades rose 23% during that time, while those in programs covering HVAC and vehicle maintenance and repair increased 7%,” the report read.
“OpenTheBooks unearthed that Harvard’s $53.2 billion endowment has grown by $14 billion, or $2 billion annually, since 2018,” Fox Business added.
“This is the wealthiest university on the planet. And their president right now is making an argument that they’re due, under the Constitution, their tax-free status. So, there has to be a giant reset button, obviously,” Rowe said.
“But we also need, in my view, to really understand that while there’s reason for optimism in the stats David [Asman] just shared,” Rowe said, mentioning the 2024 National Student Clearinghouse study indicating enrollment in trade programs is up 16%, “I’m not inclined to panic — but if I could reach the panic button, I’d hit it right now.”
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Sierra Marlee is a millennial whose hunger for the truth in a world of fake news has led her to write. Marlee also contributes to BizPac Review.
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