Awash in the Unwashed
30 06 11 - 12:25
We are awash in the useless. There is no shortage of need for those with actual skills. The bulk of the unemployed are those without any skills, those we keep forcing into colleges who donât belong there and who are devaluing college degrees for the rest of us.John Russo's chemical lab in North Kingstown has been growing in recent years, even despite a deflated economy, and he expects to add another 15 to 20 positions to his 49 employees over the next year.
But the president of Ultra Scientific Analytical Solutions has found himself in a vexing spot, struggling to fill openings that require specialized training in a state where the jobless rate is close to 11 percent, the third-highest in the nation.
"It's very difficult to find the right person, and there's all walks of life trying to find jobs. I honestly think there's a large swath of unemployable," said Russo, whose firm manufactures and supplies analytical standards. "They don't have any skills at all."
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Educators and business leaders say that a "college for all" mentality is no longer realistic, if ever it was. Many positions - known as "middle-skill" jobs - don't require a degree from a four-year institution. The Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce estimates there will be 47 million job openings in the decade ending in 2018. Nearly half will require only an associate's degree. - MSNBC
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