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Saturday, July 7, 2012

The hardest jobs to fill (think plumbers) - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

The hardest jobs to fill (think plumbers) - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:


The hardest jobs to fill (think plumbers)

Reformers who think that students should be studying subjects that will help them fill empty jobs should be pushing for more vocational education in the skilled trades.

Plumbing contactor Matt McCormick checks piping for a home under construction in Des Plaines, Ill. (Tim Boyle/BLOOMBERG)
There has been a big push in recent years to improve education in the STEM fields — science, technology, engineering and math — so much so that you might think those are the only sectors in the economy trying to find skilled workers.
It turns out that those areas do not top the list of jobs most difficult to fill, at least not