Nebraska Faces a Workforce Crisis

Forty-plus years of the “college-for-all” movement has resulted in an entire generation of students with debt and left the skilled-labor workforce in a constant shortage. According to Blueprint Nebraska, there are four times as many job postings as there are people looking for work in Nebraska and a huge percentage of the skilled-labor workforce is now reaching retirement age.

Today over 43 million people owe over $1.7 trillion in student loan debt. High schools have gutted their vocational training programs and many students who could have benefitted from a career in the trades were never exposed to those opportunities.

To address the workforce crisis in Nebraska, NCWDE is increasing the awareness of these high-income, high-benefit career paths.