The importance of area schools working together, with assistance by forward-thinking Ray Maloney, in developing the vocational technical center at the old Diebolt site southeast of LaHarpe is verified in a recent report on the “education divide.”
The gist of the Associated Press report is college graduates earn far more than those with just a high school education. According to the AP analysis, college graduates, on average, earned 56 percent more than high school grads in 2015, a survey by the Economic Policy Institute discovered .
High school students often hear the mantra: Without a college education you’re facing a life of hard work, drudgery and meager compensation.
Some elements of that may be true, but fact is some people are more comfortable in a non-academic world and like the challenge of working with their hands, which doesn’t mean they’ve left their minds behind.
Here’s where the vo-tech center comes alive, a dream of Maloney’s, a man who has done quite well, thank you, by working hard and taking advantage of global economics. Scrap metal is his signature pursuit and it became a hot item when China ramped up its industrial muscle. Even today, it can be lucrative. Copper on spot market is about $2.60 a pound; scrap isn’t far behind.
With the new rural ed center we are likely to see any number of young people came away with far better than start-up skills in welding, carpentry, and other occupations that have a ready market.
This is not to bash college grads, but we will always have a need for those in construction, maintenance and repair chores as well as a multitude of other skills. To wit: Have you tried to make a quick hair appointment lately or have a plumber or electrician come to rectify a household problem on a moment’s notice.
Skills in nursing venues, from aides on up, are in demand and will be even more so as our population ages.
A SECOND advantage we have is Allen Community College.
Many students graduating from high school aren’t quite ready to embark on their own, or haven’t an inkling as to what they might want to do should they enroll in a full-fledged college or university.
This is where ACC can step in to give a taste of college, and an educational regimen more advanced and challenging than high school.
The local college has terminal programs that prepare traditional students as well as those returning after an interruption of their educations because of marriage, children or any number of things that would have made immediate enrollment difficult or ill-advised.
On top of all else, an education at ACC, to prep for further learning or to obtain an associate’s degree, is reasonably priced. In fact, a recent study showed ACC to cost less to attend than any other two-year institution in Kansas.
So, don’t fret if college isn’t for you or yours. Learn a skill while in high school, obtain more training at ACC or, if you’re so disposed, go to work in area industries, where on-the-job training often is offered.
