The future of central Ohio’s workforce includes career and technical education at the high school level.
WOSU’s Debbie Holmes spoke with Jay Plasman, an associate professor of workforce and education at Ohio State University.
Debbie Holmes: We hear many reports that more and more young people are opting not to attend college and rather pursue a skilled trade. What did your research find about those who want the trade route versus getting a bachelor's degree?
Jay Plasman: My work really focused on students in high school who pursue both career technical education coursework and earning these industry-recognized credentials, which are associated with specific potential jobs. And really what I found is that students are making a big trade-off. Students who earn these credentials are much less likely to go on to a post-secondary education institution and earn a post-secondary degree. But immediately after high school, they are expected to earn more money than students who do not go on to earn those credentials or participate in that coursework. So those were kind of the two really big findings that we found.
Debbie Holmes: What are the motivating forces behind a decision to forgo college?
Jay Plasman: Well, in this instance, it kind of seemed like one, again, I don't have the exact reasoning behind it, but what it seemed like is that students were earning these credentials and seeing that they could go and earn a decent income immediately after high school, as opposed to going into post-secondary education, and many have been choosing that route specifically, and as you mentioned, forgoing kind of that post-secondary education and additional attainment in degrees.
Debbie Holmes: Will those working in the trades be able to earn as much as those with college degrees?
Jay Plasman: Initially yes, but that benefit, the potential wage benefit really does seem to diminish over time. So, at kind of the broad level, any student who earns an industry recognized credential is expected to earn more in the first couple years after high school. But as those students who went to college begin entering the workforce and get those jobs, any benefit really kind of decreases pretty quickly, and by year five or six there really isn't much benefit, though there is a big difference depending on what field of work a student goes into.
Debbie Holmes: Are we talking about certain degrees, especially certain bachelor’s degrees that really boost your income?
Jay Plasman: I didn't look directly at bachelor’s degrees, but with respect to industry recognized credentials, there's a huge, huge difference. So specifically in the skilled trades, construction, manufacturing, transportation and logistics, students who earn those credentials do see maintained income benefits kind of over time. Whereas students who earn credentials in maybe health or education or the arts really don't see any benefit, and by a couple years after high school are expected to be earning less than students who didn't earn any credentials.
Debbie Holmes: Now when we're talking about college degrees, what about long-term earnings then? What does the research show for career earnings of college graduates versus skilled trades people?
Jay Plasman: So my research hasn't specifically focused on that, but the broad body of literature out there really says that bachelor's degrees still do matter and that over the long-term, over the life course, students who earn bachelor's degrees are going to be expected to earn more on average than students who do not earn any post-secondary credentials.
Debbie Holmes: What recommendations would you have for a young person making this decision between college and skilled trades?
Jay Plasman: I think the decision is important. It's a very personal decision. And I think it's important for people who've kind of done work in this area, and it's really important for these students to talk to people that they trust, to role models, to mentors about the trade-offs. There is a lot of opportunity if you choose to forgo four-year degrees, but four-year degrees can provide a longer sustained kind of opportunity for earning.
