The reality is: it is becoming harder and harder for the “middle class” in America to find decent employment, and even harder to stay employed over time. This trend has been going on for quite a long time, long before the current administration, and economists believe the changes are here to stay.

Economic advisors have an old joke they used to tell about this trend:

The manufacturing facility of the future will employ two people. One will be a man, and one will be a dog. And the man will be there to feed the dog. And the dog will be there to make sure the man doesn’t touch the equipment.

This may no longer be that funny. “And it hurts most for those without a college degree. They’re less in demand, so they make half of what people with a higher education make.”

David Autor from M.I.T. has a few things to say about this:

“It wasn’t long ago that many large businesses had people who just did typing and filing and phone answering. We don’t see much of that anymore. Similarly, at a slightly higher level there are a lot of accounting and information processing jobs that also have been supplanted by hardware and software.” *

He goes on to say that “American society is very dependent on the belief that we are meritocratic and mobile, that people’s success in life depends on their smarts and on their hard work and playing by the rules, not on accidents of birth.” Thing is, for that 70 percent of Americans with modest skills and modest education, he sees fewer and fewer shots at a middle-class life.

The bottom line here is: middle class jobs that require very little education or skills training are going away. They will end up being a very small part of the job market with more and more people trying to get into those jobs. Which is why we see high unemployment among those who do not have H.S. equivalencies or specific job training.

If you find yourself in this situation- the solution is to start expanding your skill levels. You can do this with degrees, but there are certification programs out there also. For more information contact the B.O.C.E.S. at 789-5742.

*Source: http://www.marketplace.org/topics/business/future-jobs/jobs-future-middle-class-struggles-changing-job-market

This is the last week for you to enter our “Like” us Facebook Contest.

We will be drawing a name on Monday the 21st and will announce the winner of the Kindle Fire here!

To enter the contest please to to the Uinta BOCES #1 page on facebook and click “like”.

Graduation will be on Saturday, May 19th, 2012 at 3 p.m. at Davis Middle School.

Awards will be given to:

Education Plus:

Valedictorian: Jacob Allen

Salutatorian: Michele Latter

College & Career Readiness Center:

Valedictorian: Danielle Szoss

Salutatorian: Virginia Bridge

National Honor Roll:

Jacob Allen, Danielle Szoss and Virginia Bridge

Learner of the Year: will be announced at Graduation.

Hope to see you all there!

 Not all students are successful in main stream high school, so I am so grateful that there was a program like B.O.O.S.T. available for me. The small classroom and individual attention were important for me to succeed. My instructor worked with me on my problem subjects so I was able to keep up. The instructor, Carol Bourland, never gave up on me. She knew I could do it – and I did!

I also appreciate all of the life and job skills I learned in the B.O.O.S.T. program. I learned about nutritional cooking, defensive driving, CPR and so many other life skills. I also practiced interview skills and learned how to write a decent resume so that I could get a job.

I have finished my C.N.A. class through Western Wyoming Community College and am ready to apply for my license. i want to obtain my R.N. license and become a nurse.

I have no doubt that the B.O.O.S.T. program gave me the tools to succeed; without this program I would not be where I am now.