Op-Ed: The trades — from blue collar to blue chip jobs
Hot off the press! Check out this column in the San José Spotlight from 332 Business Manager Pete Seaberg:
"Imagine graduating from high school and hearing: 'We’ll pay you to continue your education and have steady work building tech campuses, hospitals, schools, data centers, and clean-energy projects. You’ll earn enough to buy a house in the San Francisco Bay Area, raise a family, and retire with dignity.' It may sound like a pipe dream—or a scam. It’s neither. It’s the construction trades.
"I entered the five-year apprenticeship with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) after military service in 2003. That decision allowed me to raise a family in one of the most expensive regions in the world. Somewhat ironically, it also made it possible for me to spend thousands of dollars to put my daughter through college—once considered the golden ticket to financial stability. Like so many recent college graduates, she struggled to find meaningful work.
"Blue-collar jobs in the skilled trades have become blue-chip careers with world-class technical education, pay, and benefits. And getting into an apprenticeship is as competitive as getting into top universities."