Only my opinion, but I say that I learned VERY little practical knowledge in high school. I went to MIT for college and basically learned how to think, although I cant say I remember much of what they taught, or use it in practical ways since then. I have learned on my own much more practical stuff after college.

I think there are always jobs out there for some skills at some wages. The government screws things up by controlling wages through regulations and prevents the normal market forces from matching skills and wages.

We hired a mechanical engineer straight out of school. He could do drawings and was a good employee. BUT, he needed to work with me and take advantage of my experience in what works and doesnt work in practice for a little over a year. Our job was worth $12/hour, but it was invaluable to him. He just left us for a better job and is making $25/hour now. I think this is the way things used to work, and we should go back to that.

My son in law owns a heavy haul trucking company. He has had job openings for over a year for diesel mechanics, machinists, heavy equipment operators, computer programmers, drivers, and a pilot with multi engine and instrument ratings. So far no qualified people have applied. This is in California where our education system is in shambles.

As most manufacturing involves machines, manufacturing is a lot of maintenance, which isn't typically taught in the common college curriculum these days. We need to stop pushing college degrees as the end-all and be-all of education - especially when many degrees are only completing the education students should have received in high school! What we need are more apprenticeship programs.

Actually the skills are there. Most military can not only read and write but are trained in many disciplines that crossover to civilian careers. I was in the Navy for 21 years and came out with skills relating to electricity generation, electronics, control and monitoring circuits, nuclear power, fire fighting training, paramedic training and many other skills. I also know that I am not in the minority as far as skills learned. Problem is that the military does not give degrees or certifications with those skills or if they do it is hard to get certified because of all the different duties you have.

The push these days is for everyone to have a college degree in useful crap like Under Water Basket Weaving while many of these college bound kids didn't get a basic HS education.
The company my wife works for started hiring only those with at least a 2 year degree and they are now re thinking that plan. Very short on work ethics is what they are learning and the attitude seems to be "Hey, at least I made it to work and now you expect me to do something" for a $12/hr first job starting salary. They have a hard enough time just finding new employees who can Pee in a cup clean.

doesn't add up...example: Disney...fires employees to hire overseas workers...fired employee cannot get severance unless he trains new overseas employee (who does not have skills for new job)....so CEO's argument falls flat..."fake argument"...in other words...their lying

If education is lacking, it is because governments handle most of it. And since 1970, we have seen it suffused with one social experiment after another--beginning, of course, with desegregation busing, and continuing with far less obvious, but worse in their way, things.

Well Freedom, you hit the bulls eye! No amount of money will fix it (and I will bet you that a huge amount of their "increase" is buried as PERS money or raises which net nothing for the process). The geniues of "education" have no idea what to do, beyond whine to the paymasters "we need more", sort of like most senior military people do. The root cause is the process itself. To my knowledge, no one has actually examined education from a goal based aspect (i.e. what is the desired end state?), and they keep getting more money, and keep adding in their "social education" agenda. Common Core is a great example. It is the most illogical, rambling, disjointed discombobulation you can imagine. Scaled down from college curriculum, probably. Until the death grip of the education establishment is broke, it will continue to produce garbage results. For example, it costs some incredible amount of money (like 350.00) fo a textbook, because it must be vetted by a huge number of political checkpoints, to ensure "accuracy", yet they are routinely behind the times, out of date, and inaccurate from a fact perspective. They are not designed to educate with facts, but with political diatribe. End the grip of the education book lords, and some improvement could be had. Then you need to go to a basic nation wide curriculum standard (not curriculum, but a standard) that requires you complete and master "x,y,and z" to advance. If you don't, you don't. That teaches not only fundamental skills, but the ethic of working to achieve a goal, and personal responsibility. If you are 12 and have mastered all the skills, go to college, if you are 28, then you will probably not have a bright future in nuclear power... It could be fixed, but not in the present system. I educated sailors as a master training specialist in the Navy, and we could take the dim wits the Navy gave us, and have them master a 112 cabinet sonar system with over 1.5 million parts, in a year (tactical use, maintenance and repair). Only failed about 20%, because we would keep at it until they did learn it..despite the pain.

I agree that the ed system is broken, nick, and needs an overhaul. It worked a lot better prior to 1970.
This week I received an email from my state rep regarding the balanced budget that the state legislature just completed this week:
"Overall, the largest part of our budget (54%) is spent on Education ... and 62% of the budget increase goes to education" Per the email $19 billion in state funding for 2018 is budgeted to educate/brainwash 1.7 million "students"in public schools. $11,176 per "student."
In 2014, Education Week studies placed the state at 35th best state in education (of 50 states) with a "C" average, below the national average of "C+". To be fair, however, other studies show that the differences in test scores between the top 10 states and the bottom 10 states is very small. imo, the geographical differences in looter "pull" is much more significant (with DC and NY highest, imo), and none of the state public school systems are successful overall.

Yes, I refer to them as the "Village Idiot" degree programs. No one needs them, or wants them, but it is an easy 4 year program. Just don't ever expect them to pay back their student loans, which they will look at you aghast and say "You expect me to pay all that back?".

It could also be that the current education system is totaly broke. oregon spends 40% of it's budget on K-12 and wants another 1.5 billion this next 2 years. They have dumped anything useful "like "shop" that taught skills of some sort. That is why I am all for trying the new Ed Sec who at least seems to think schools need to run on a business basis, and their results and product are what you are buying, by using vouchers, charter schools and choices. Make them have to actually teach and educate. Right now I bet most of the budgets go for salary and retirement, and little else.

Why is there an alleged shortage of people with skills?
Could it be that the employers have completely changed the compensation packages? In the past some manufacturing jobs offered a level of security to the employee that is no longer offered. In a free market, that might result in fewer people making the investment in time and money in learning the skills for those jobs. One might tell the CEO's to heal yourselves instead of asking the taxpayers to fix what you have broken. Actions have predictable results for people who consider the long term effects instead of chasing short term profits to boost the CEO's personal pay and bonus.

Is there a shortage of jobs (aka excess of supply) for college graduates with degress in black studies, women's studies, history, and english lit?