Who's Most Responsible for the Employment Skill Gap?

Actually both the unemployed and colleges.

Let's talk about the legal market.

The job market for law school graduates has rarely been worse than the past two years.

On the other hand, interest in legal education has never been higher. Record numbers of qualified college graduates are applying to law schools, which are not hesitating to enroll them.

Every year hundreds of law students amass millions of dollars in student loan debt only to find the jobs aren't there to even pay that debt back.

One has to ponder, how these schools can continue to admit thousands of students when their career prospects are so uncertain?

Does the US really NEED 50,000 new lawyers a year?

There was a time a few years ago when a law degree opened many doors in the world of business. It was very helpful to have a law degree if you wanted a promotion. Not all law school graduates practiced law. The law schools responded to the demand that was in the market place. Students wanted to come. When the recession hit and business opportunities became few and far between, law students did begin trying to get jobs in law firms, but the highly publicized salaries of $150,000.00 a year for associates, are limited to a very small percent. Many law students are disappointed and disillusioned

Since so many doctors are complaining about "Obama Care" and the possibilities of socialized medicine, it is time to force the medical achools to expand and accept more students and to stop limiting the practice of medicine to the priviledged few! With an aging population, we need more doctors graduating from American medical schools!

They can always fail miserably at lawyering and go into politics. No, but wait. STOP electing failed lawyers; the sooner we learn that, the sooner we recover.

The public schools are really failing kids. Not everyone kid will end up in college, don't crush them in the school system to try to bring the college bound class scores up. There's no shame in that, there should be more trades taught.

I agree, but employers have been passing up the "uneducated" for three decades or more. Now that the market is bad, they're doing a 180 and wondering where the skilled workers are. Employers and the Universities both created this monster.

We have a real problem with Student Loans, Colleges/Unis and it just boggles my mind the MASSIVE amount of money gone into MASSIVE edu-ocracies offering MASSIVE courses which = ZERO CAREER.

I can't believe I'm about to write this but: Cliff Claven from Cheers is absolutely right - one of the most important things we can do right now is start training, learning how to DO skill jobs again. Plumbers, Electricians, Skilled builders, hell.. tap and die makers (is that what their called?) we need this and there are real jobs for this. Good paying ones too.

But wow we DO NOT NEED anymore 'Communications' grads with $100,000 lifetime student debt. You could volunteer at a TV station for 4 years for free and be 100 times more valuable, skilled and have 100 times the chance at an actual job.

**OH and btw... I learned all this the hard way. Oh did I ever.

It depends it's also the unemployed they are the on who is making the decision not to go to work but the goverment decreases the jobs so they can get more money

Obama and his leftist gangsters. They couldn't have planned it better, the basturds.

Bravo----and I think you are right-----but it goes farther back--- look into the roots on the NEA-- it will make you sick.

It makes me think McCarthy was right

How is that going to help anyone?

We;re already spending more than most countries on our public schools..more money isn't going to help.

Free for who? Somebody pays for it. The government takes and gives. The government pays for education with your tax dollars. Money is not going to fix what's wrong with the schools.

Does it make sense that the federal government should make all of the decisions on educating everyone?

That sounds like something Hitler would want to do.... decide what gets taught and what doesn't..... hmmmm.... but now we all embrace it like morons.

Nothing is ever free.

Somebody always pays for everything...

ROFLOL, we can't even pay our debt, and you think you will get a free education...how cute. :)

When you go to school find something with growth potential. Basket weaving and how to protest are not careers with a future.
I hear a lot of whining about the Government won't give me this, that and everything for doing nothing.

The present Democrat Marxist WH, Czars and Cabinet do not care about the unemployed or the employed. All the Democrats want is to alienate their voters so they can be re-elected. The main goal is always to be re-elected. OBlamer has a disastrous record and cannot get out his vote. He has to create increased anxiety, anger and hatred to get our his vote. The 9% unemployment and Housgin numbers suck. There is no significant growth. Barry is a loser with all the malcontents and freeloaders.

How can you seriously ask such a question?
The government has threatened to tax and regulate any new business to DEATH.
And force them to pay for expensive benefits for all employees.
And jack up fuel costs, which jacks up ALL other costs....etc.
Would YOU be dumb enough to invest in such a poisonous business climate?

If young people paid more attention to which industries are growing and short of people, like the healthcare industry for example, they would know what to do after school: whether to train for a specific job as opposed to taking a degree in Communications or History. Ultimately what's the point of blaming the govt. (education dept) since Ron Paul swears he's gonna demolish it anyway. Then the blame will go back to where it really is right now.

Of course, we should implement a system of education within our public schooling that teaches kids skills.

They won't even guarantee that kids can read and write! In fact some are going stop teaching cursive writing all together! It's a disgrace!

That IS a disgrace!

That doesn't bother me - as long as the child knows how to read and write, the manner of writing is totally irrelevant.

They can't ! How much lower can the bar go?

This is true, but the motive behind education should be passing on knowledge, not passing on knowledge only if you can write in cursive.

Well, writing is obviously a useful tool - cursive is an elitist, formal form of it. It is by no means necessary.

But if you want to focus on communication as a whole, which is important, learning multiple languages and an extensive understanding of our native tongue (dialects included) is fundamental. Hell, perhaps divergent thinkers can take part in developing a new, more efficient language for future generations to use.

How is it the government's fault that unemployed individuals don't have the skills necessary to enter a field? You can't make someone seize the opportunities given to them.

That being said, there are a lot of good people struggling to find jobs. Not because they have a skill gap per say but because they are fresh out of college or in a popular industry with lots of competition. I do think colleges share some blame for a skill gap (not unemployment though). A little more emphasis of internships/externships/resum... fairs/practical application would be ideal.

I tried to vote the Govt! The Dept of Education. which has DVDs down education in this country to embarrassing levels. Because uneducated people are easier to dominate & fool than educated people.

I am not sure there is a skill gap. Since the government keeps increasing the Miinimum Wage which is meant for high school and college kids, businesses take jobs that are meant to be regular full time jobs that pay a living wage and break them down into multiple lower MW jobs. Now many skilled workers are having to compete for MW jobs meant for young inexperienced workers. The truth is there are unemployed skilled workers all over but for whatever reason business will not hire them. It could be location, schedules don't work, pay is not appropriate, being a single parent with young children, being overweight, age bias, being out of work in itself disqualifies many people because most businesses will not hire anyone who is not currently employed. Maybe you have no network or you do not know anyone which is the best way to get in the door on a job. I know an experienced FBI agent, a licensed commercial airline pilot, an areonautical engineer and a former CEO who have all worked at Wal-Mart for MW. Business wants a young person with the knowledge and skills of an older person and lacking that they will hire the younger person and pay four their mistakes.

I'd say govt and business but government made globalization possible. Soon all countries will be like China if businesses have their way. Low wages and huge profits.
In Europe unemployment is much higher because people receive unemployment for many years. In the US if you don't receive unemployment you don't count as unemployed.
If the govt wanted they could provide an accurate percentage of unemployed but prefer to lie and deceive the public.