“Face reality as it is, not as it was or as you wish it to be,” said Jack Welch. Hold that thought for a moment, please.  I was talking to a candidate for Duval County School Board last week and the topic of vocational schools and trade professions came up.  We had a good discussion centered on how we educate our children – specifically, how and when public schools should evaluate a child’s potential for college.

 

And more importantly, should we face the reality that every child is not built for college and is it better to focus on identifying students that could potentially be successful as electricians, carpenters, plumbers, mechanics, etc. as early as middle school?

 

I honestly cannot say that everyone graduating from high school should attend college. Some people feel that way, and I certainly feel that education is critical to everyone’s success.

 

In fact, Malcolm X said, “Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today.”

 

However, I am also a realist, and I fully understand and concede that college just simply isn’t for everyone. While it would undoubtedly be controversial, I feel that we should put more effort in to targeting students who probably aren’t going to college and attempt to get them interested in rewarding careers that don’t involve a college degree.

 

For example, you don’t need a bachelor’s degree to be a fireman, long shoreman, carpenter, electrician, etc. You do need post secondary training, but not four year college degrees. These are great careers that pay high wages and provide good benefits. How do we stabilize inner city communities?

 

High wage jobs provide so many opportunities for individuals and families. With a good job you can buy a house, help pay for your child’s college costs, invest in your retirement, provide for your family’s well being, etc.

 

In order for the black middle class to grow we have to start back promoting trade professions as viable options for creating strong well paid careers.

 

In the late 1800s W.E.B. Dubois and Booker T. Washington were black leaders who both fought for economic and social equality for freed slaves. Although the overall goals was the same the means in which they suggested we achieve the goal was very different.

 

Washington felt that blacks should focus more on farming and skilled labor, while Dubois felt that every black should receive an education. He also felt that ten percent of the race would provide the leadership we needed. Dubois called this group the “Talented Tenth.”

 

Actually, Washington was a proponent of education as well, but he realized that in order for freed slaves to survive economically we had to focus on the jobs that were available at the time.

 

Washington said, “Education is the sole and only hope of the Negro race in America.”

 

Today, I agree with both men in a sense. I feel that all people, not just blacks should receive some sort of education after high school. However, again I realize that college is not an option for everyone so we should deal with the reality of matter and aggressively do as Booker T. Washington suggested.

 

It will not be popular to those in the academic arena, but we have to focus more of our youth’s attention on viable career options like skilled trades.

 

With the national unemployment rate still higher than it needs to be, it’s clear that jobs are not plentiful. And ask anyone that’s been unemployed – there continues to be a shortage of high wage jobs, especially for blacks that don’t have college degrees.

 

Professional trades, which include electricians, carpenters, plumbers, heating and air conditioning technicians are some of the jobs that require a high level of training, and can be very rewarding in the long term. Many wealthy successful businessmen started off as apprentice and grew into entrepreneurs.

 

The Northeast Florida Builders Association, several local unions and Florida State College all provide great trade programs for individuals. Once you become a licensed professional in any of the areas I just mentioned the opportunities are limitless.

 

Many people start off working for large companies and once they reach the level of a master craftsman they start their own companies.

 

But just like going to college – you have to be committed to finishing the program if you want to be successful. Too many of our youth want instant gratification in life. That’s not how you build success. Willie Bady, Jr, once said, “Living a life is like constructing a building; if you start wrong, you’ll end wrong.”

 

And there are definitely positions that are available in these fields. Another area that blacks can excel is the maritime industry. The Jacksonville Port Authority along with its clients have a $1.3 billion dollar impact on our local economy.

 

The average annual salaries for port jobs are $45,000, which is well above the state average.

 

I have often written about the need to grow the African American middle class, and its jobs like these that can help grow and sustain a strong black middle class.  Again, I can’t say it enough, but the opportunities provided by the trade professions are critical our local economy.

 

Again, as we deal with the realities of life, college cannot continue to be the only primary option that we promote to youth. Professional trades can be a means of helping young men and women establish long-term careers that lead towards entrepreneurship and long-term economic stability.

 

Signing off from the Northeast Florida Builder’s Apprenticeship Program,

Reggie Fullwood