Palm Beach County School Board member wants more training in the trades for students
"My goal is to create an internal pipeline for our local skilled workers for the businesses in our community and to create a pipeline for our students who might not otherwise have jobs to change the trajectory of their lives," Lane said during the June 4 school board meeting.
The district already has a wide set of offerings for students who want to find after-high school work in everything from agriculture and construction to sales and transportation. Students can leave high school with industry certifications for a long list of job types, including emergency medical technician, automobile technician, medical assistant and pharmacy technician.
But Lane said he wants the district to do more.
"From my research, one of the biggest complaints that I found was that when students across the country graduate, they've only taken one or two courses in the trades," he said. "So they don't possess the skills they need to immediately go to work."
For generations, schools offered vocational or "shop" classes to students who did not plan to go to college after graduation. Over time, with jobs requiring a college degree typically paying more than those that don't, some schools emphasized college preparedness and de-emphasized vocational classes.
Bachelor's degree holders still earn significantly more than non-college graduates. The median annual salary for those with a bachelor's degree was $80,236, according to 2024 figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For those whose highest educational attainment was a high school diploma, the median annual salary was $48,360.
Not all college degrees are worth the same in the job market, though. The average salary for a college graduate with a humanities degree is $54,258, according to ZipRecruiter. That's less than the $62,400 average annual salary of an electrician or plumber, and it's less than the $58,240 average annual salary of an HVAC technician.
There might not be a hungry market for English or philosophy majors, but people who can drive a forklift, hang drywall or wire a building are in extremely high demand. Some of that is tied to the economic cycle, and some of it is because older tradesmen are "aging out" of the workforce and aren't being replaced quickly enough by younger workers.
"For every five people who retire, only one is trained to replace them," Eligio Marquez Veray, district associate dean for Trade and Industry at Palm Beach State College, was quoted as saying in a news article on the school's website.
Lane said he's been told of that problem, too.
"I've spoken to many, many business leaders in our community about this issue," he said. "One business owner told me a story. He needed 150 employees to finish a project, but he only could recruit 85. He had a deadline to finish the project, and he didn't have enough skilled workers to do so. This is a standard problem in the industry."
Palm Beach State College is already working to connect young people to jobs in the trades. It got a $1.75 million grant last year to boost those efforts, and Klein Tools and Lowe's have provided financial support to the school's Construction Trades Center for Workforce Innovation.
Precisely how the the school district will change its career and technical program is unclear. The district plans to hold a series of workshops on it this fall.
Lane's colleagues welcomed his push for an expanded career and technical program.
"You're preaching to the choir here," board member Karen Brill said.
"This topic is a big deal," added board member Marcia Andrews.
Lane said preparing more students to enter the workforce after high school is an imperative, given the district's college matriculation rates.
A district report from May 2024 found that 58% of students who graduated in 2023 were enrolled in a college or university that fall. That percentage has been stuck in the upper 50s since 2019, when it was 64%.
The report also found significant racial and ethnic gaps in the going-to-college rates of district students.
Only 49% of Hispanic graduates in 2023 were enrolled at a college or university that fall. For Black graduates, it was 54%, and for white graduates it was 70%.
Lane said he wants to make sure students who don't go to college are prepared to feed a hungry labor market. Employers want that, too, he said.
"We have excellent career and technical education programs in our district, and the business community would like us to focus on enhancing those career and technical education programs," he said.
Want more education news? Sign up for ourExtra Credit weekly newsletter, delivered every Friday!
Wayne Washington is a journalist covering education for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at wwashington@pbpost.com. Help support our work; subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach County School District looking to expand training in trades
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
AI Startup ChatBlu Secures $500K in Pre-Seed Funding to Automate Inventory for Online Retailers
ChatBlu has raised $500,000 in pre-seed funding to launch an autonomous AI agent that automates inventory management across platforms for multi-platform e-commerce. Founded by 20-year-olds Kristian Lukauskis and Alexander Dillon, the startup is backed by Matador VC and angels from Google and Courtesy of ChatBlu LONDON, Aug. 19, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ChatBlu, a rising artificial intelligence startup founded by Kristian Lukauskis of Miami and Alexander Dillon of London, has announced the close of a $500,000 pre-seed funding round. The company is building an autonomous AI agent designed to eliminate manual inventory management for e-commerce sellers operating across multiple platforms. The round was led by Matador Venture Capital, a firm known for backing several Y Combinator X25 companies. It included participation from angel investors associated with Google and Amazon Web Services. The funding will support ChatBlu's product development and go-to-market rollout, which is planned for September 2025. ChatBlu was incorporated in April 2025 and aims to solve a widespread pain point in digital commerce: syncing listings, managing stock, and adjusting pricing across storefronts like Shopify, Amazon, Etsy, and WooCommerce. By enabling store owners to issue simple, natural-language commands, the AI agent executes all backend tasks autonomously across channels. 'E-commerce has evolved, but inventory management hasn't kept up.' Said Dillon, 'ChatBlu is here to change that and set a new standard for how stores operate across platforms.' Industry research estimates that poor inventory coordination results in $1.8 trillion in lost revenue for retailers every year. ChatBlu's team believes their product can help merchants increase conversion rates by up to 20 percent through intelligent listing optimization and real-time inventory control. The company was developed within the 2024–2025 cohort of the Genoa Entrepreneurship School, a European accelerator program that boasts a 75 percent funding success rate. Supported by mentors such as Douglas Leone of Sequoia Capital, Genoa provides students with access to capital and global networks. ChatBlu's technical development is led by CTO Sairam Vangapally, a former Amazon and Shutterfly engineer. Additional team members bring experience from Apple, Meta, Adidas, and Xbox. ChatBlu will initially serve English-speaking markets, with expansion into the Hispanic e-commerce sector planned for 2026. Learn more about ChatBlu's technology and upcoming launch at About ChatBlu ChatBlu is an artificial intelligence company building the first autonomous AI agent for multi-platform inventory management. Founded by Kristian Lukauskis, Alexander Dillon, and Sairam Vangapally, ChatBlu has received $500,000 in funding to automate backend retail operations for digital merchants. The startup is backed by Genoa Entrepreneurship School and Matador Ventures Capital, which has several Y-Combinator startups in its portfolio. Its founding team brings experience from companies including Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Adidas. The company's vision is to eliminate manual inventory processes through intelligent automation. Contact Information: Contact Person's Name: Kristian Lukauskis, CEOOrganization / Company: ChatBluCompany website: Email Address: A photo accompanying this announcement is available at in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Karoline Leavitt Hints Trump Could Start Hiding Even More Jobs Data
The Trump administration appears to be inching away from the responsibility of issuing a monthly jobs report. Speaking with reporters at a White House press briefing Tuesday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt failed to promise that the economic updates would continue, instead downgrading their existence to a 'hope' while further undermining the credibility of the data the reports are built upon. 'Will the Bureau of Labor Statistics continue to put out monthly jobs reports?' asked a reporter. 'Well, look, what I'll tell you about the Bureau of Labor Statistics—I believe that is the plan and that's the hope, and that these monthly reports will be data that the American people can trust,' Leavitt said. 'As you know, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has made massive revisions after the last several points reports that they have put out. 'And there has certainly been a decline in the quality and reliability of data coming from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and there's been an increase in revisions,' Leavitt continued. 'And this president and the administration is finally tackling this problem that so many have talked about. The president is actually doing something about it.' Donald Trump's new nominee for BLS commissioner, E.J. Antoni, told Fox Business Tuesday that 'BLS should suspend issuing the monthly job reports' and instead only rely on quarterly data. Prior to entering the fold of the Trump administration, Antoni worked as the Heritage Foundation's chief economist and helped develop Project 2025. Trump abruptly fired BLS's last commissioner, Erika McEntarfer, hours after the release of the last jobs report, claiming that the Biden-era appointee's work analyzing the granular data of America's economy was 'faked' and could not be trusted. Revisions to the monthly jobs report are far from out of the ordinary. Instead, it's fairly normal for the reports to tell a different picture month-to-month, as more data is collected over time from late-submitting survey participants. The report has been published on a monthly basis since 1916, but there hasn't been an issue with it until Trump 2.0. At the core of Trump's gripe with the July report was its revision of figures from the preceding months, which moved the three-month growth average to 35,000. A lag like that hasn't emerged since 2010, and it made Trump's first six months in office—and his controversial tariff overhaul—look particularly bad. The report's downsizing also suggested that while some sectors, such as health care and social assistance, gained jobs, the vast majority of the market lost employment. The absence of a monthly report would be yet another infringement on transparency and accountability between the federal government and the people it's supposed to represent. 'We need to look at the means and the methods of how the United States is acquiring this very important data,' Leavitt said Tuesday. 'The goal, of course, is to provide honest and good data for the American people to make very important economic decisions on.'
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Franklin's Wyelea community on the Harpeth River completes phase 1 of construction
Wyelea a 600-acre, multimillion-dollar community in Franklin, has officially entered Phase 2 of the project. The residential community and private members club was originally unveiled in 2023. The land that the 68 lots reside on was first purchased from the Ingram family for $28.1 million. 'It's such a beautiful piece of land, and it needs to be treated thoughtfully,' said Trevor Cross, the project's principal developer. The scenery around the planned community helped give birth to its name, a combination of the words wye and lea. Wye is "an old English word for a place where two rivers come together,' Cross said, "and this project, or this property, rather, has two miles of river frontage on the West Harpeth River. The second part translates to a high meadow.' Phase 1, which consisted of construction of roads and utilities, has been completed. Additionally, the first homesite closings have begun, with over 40% under contract. "This is an exciting moment for Wyelea,' Cross said. 'It's not just progress on paper. You can see the roads, walk the lake's edge, and feel the rhythm of the site coming to life. We're proud of how far we've come and are equally committed to doing it with care. This place is unlike anything else, not only in Middle Tennessee, but across the country, and that is resonating with our future residents and members.' Phase 2 includes additional roads and infrastructure under construction in preparation for The Commons, Wyelea's central amenity village. Construction of Wyelea's club amenities is set to begin this fall. This area is designed to be the heart of the community, with spaces that balance wellness, gathering, dining and recreation. The amenity village will also be home to Hale House, where residents can expect to indulge in a state-of-the-art fitness center designed in partnership with Technogym, a thermal spa with hot pools and cold plunge, infrared sauna, steam room, red-light therapy, and numerous treatment rooms. 'Designing for Wyelea begins with listening to the land,' said Scott Torode, lead architect and principal at Pfeffer Torode. 'At The Commons, that meant creating buildings that felt quiet and natural, with a rhythm that responds to how people actually want to live — spaces for wellness and gathering that feel warm, not overly programmed.' Homes are now in design review, with the first permit submissions projected for late summer. For more information or updates on the Wyelea development, visit This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Wyelea community in Franklin finishes phase 1 of construction Solve the daily Crossword
