What does a multimillionary father have in his head when he sends his 17 -year -old son to learn the “modest” welding art?
Probably what other millionaires have in their heads: Jeffrey Hinton, “the godfather of artificial intelligence”, which suggests that young people should become installers; The general director of NVIDIA, Jensen Huang, who claims that there are thousands of jobs for young people, but they must be willing to study in vocational schools; And the general director of LinkedIn, who says that the future of work no longer belongs to those with sophisticated diplomas or who went to the best universities.
Jameson's case, 17 years old
When the time came for the 17 -year -old high school student, Jameson, to find something to do during the summer, his multimillionaire and CEO of Ford gave him a somewhat unusual advice in the world of millionaires, writes the Greek press.
“I arranged to work in a position where he will learn welding,” said Jim Farley, in an interview recently published in the podcast “Decoder”.
Father's enthusiasm
“He has learned how to create something really useful with his hands and how to connect with people. If he gets to be the best welding or mechanical working on our diesel engines, I will be delighted as a parent,” he added.
The comments come in the context in which the Detroit auto industry has intensified its initiatives to manage an increasing lack of skilled workers.
Farley calls this particular field of “essential economy” professions.
This week, Ford has hosted a summit by the general directors in Detroit to discuss the ways in which leaders can invest in improving productivity in these fields.
Who will support society if things go wrong?
“We do not have enough people to support society if things go wrong,” he said, referring to firefighters, paramedics, installers, electricians, service technicians, factories and others.
Regarding the economic impact, the “essential economy” represents 7.5 trillion dollars in the US GDP and 52 million jobs, according to a study published in June by the Aspen Institute, in partnership with Ford.
Analyzing the demand for car technicians more carefully, the Tech Force commercial group has estimated that the US needs over 100,000 new jobs to meet the new demand and replace the workers leaving the industry.
The unfair demonization of the workers
By sending his child to become a welding (at least for a few months), Farley says he goes against a culture that unfairly demonized those who do the “bottom” work and overvalued those with elite university diplomas.
“Our parents and grandparents have made our great country because of this type of job. There are incredibly decent jobs in emergency services,” he said. “But our society does not respect these people as it does, not even with the latest artificial intelligence engineer.”
Farley also said that excessive dependence on jobs in the field of technology, in the context of lack of skilled workers, could put the US in a vulnerable position in terms of national defense, because vital goods must be manufactured and transported throughout the country.
Electricians and installers are true winners
At the same time, in a recent interview with the Channel 4 News in the UK, NVIDIA general manager, Jensen Huang, said the true winners of the artificial intelligence era will be no offices, but electricians, installers and carpenters.
“The manufacturer sector will explode,” he stressed, arguing that the creation of artificial intelligence data centers requires a continuous expansion that “will double and double and double each year.”
His opinion is gaining ground among other leaders, despite the recent data from the Yale Budget Lab, which shows that artificial intelligence has not yet disturbed the labor market.
Jacob Palmer, a 23 -year -old from North Carolina, after graduating high school, decided that college was not the right option. Instead, he registered in an apprenticeship program at a construction company and specialized in electrician.
At 21, he started his own business-and last year he made profits of almost $ 90,000. Only this year, it already has six -digit revenues. Unlike many of his colleagues who are struggling with student debts and uncertain career prospects, he said: “I owe anyone.”
