Career Night Examines 'Wrongly Stigmatized' Hot Jobs

Some of the hottest jobs in Michigan this year are in the information technology sector, and they don’t always require a four-year-degree. (Photo by acaben via Flickr/Creative Commons)

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Overcoming the stigma associated skilled trade jobs, even in sectors that pay better than many requiring a bachelor’s or better degree, will be the topic of an upcoming session sponsored by a Farmington area family advocacy group.

The Farmington/Farmington Hills Farmington Hills/Farmington Commission on Children, Youth & Families is sponsoring a Technical Career Night for area students and their families from 7-9 p.m. Monday, April 27, at the Costick Center in Farmington Hills.

In 2015, Michigan’s hottest jobs will be in vocational and technical occupations, particularly in the health-care and information technology sectors.

“There’s a huge focus on the highly advanced fields of IT and health-care where people need training, skills, and credentials to compete,” Pamela Moore, president and CEO of Detroit Employment Solutions.

“Apprenticeships provide a career track out of high school that won’t leave you saddled with student loans and debts,” she said.

Those who choose to join the workforce immediately or within two years of graduating from high school may be able to avoid debt – currently at an all-time high at $1.2 trillion – but too often at the cost of a stereotype, the workshop organizers said.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, recognized the stigma while addressing workforce needs on the Senate floor last year.

“This country has wrongly stigmatized technical education,” Rubio said. “Many of the higher paying jobs in the middle class today don’t require a four-year degree from a liberal arts college. We have created this idea, that unless you get a four-year degree or more, that you are somehow not successful.”

Information on an array of post-secondary education options, alternate paths to employability, and skills that create workforce readiness will be offered at the upcoming career night.

Lisa Katz, executive director of the Workforce Intelligence Network (WIN) of Southeast Michigan, will give the keynote address, “Middle Skills Careers - The Promising Future,” focusing on current and projected employment needs and earnings.

Katz has a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University’s James Madison College and a master’s degree from University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy. WIN is a consortium of seven Michigan Works! Agencies and nine community colleges formed to build a talent bank for regional employers.

“Employers want people with actual skills and work experience,” Katz said. “Vocational programs shouldn’t be viewed only as an alternative track for the non-college bound – it should be a track for everybody.”

Following the keynote address, the following representatives will staff resource tables and provide 15-minute overviews on career potential in different technical areas:

• Jeff Amo, Cummins Diesel Technician Apprentice Program (TAP)
• Janene Erne, OCC Apprenticeship Programs, Michigan Advanced Technology Training (MAT2)
• Lisa Gordon, Career Liaison Coordinator, Workforce Intelligence Network (WIN)
• Ben Morin, Coordinator, Oakland Schools Career/Technical Education Programs
• Rick Preuss/Nick Chapital, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), Electrical and Skilled Trades Apprenticeships
• Katherine Williams, Farmington Public Schools Career/Technical Education Coordinator

For additional information, contact Ed Cherkinsky at 248-661-5114 or echerkinsk@aol.com.

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