Spain has five million people unemployed, yet businesses can’t find workers. Why? Too many of the country’s men and women are unskilled, and can’t meet the demands of most of the job offers.

That’s a problem which plagues economies all over the world, our own included. We’re placing strong emphasis on a college education, and more and more of today’s high school graduates are getting the message. Right here in our own community, a large percentage of our students head for college after graduation. It’s those who don’t who are at the greatest risk for finding only low-paying jobs if they have no skills.

We wholeheartedly agreed with Boothbay Region Alumni Association guest speaker Clive Farrin who told guests at the 2016 banquet that it’s important to train our young people for jobs in the technology fields. The demand for skilled plumbers,  electricians, home builders, and scores of other workers is especially high here on the coast yet many of our high school graduates enter the workforce with no basic training whatsoever in any of these areas. Farrin pointed out that while our school at one time had an industrial arts program in which students were introduced to various types of technology training, we’ve discontinued these courses. These courses, which he himself once taught, provide the necessary introductory basic skills to help students who aren’t college-bound choose a field of interest which may lead to a productive career right here at home and at no time has there probably been a greater need for this training than now.

Even some of our liberal arts college graduates with no specific skills find few job opportunities available to them locally and must in turn learn a skilled trade if they are to stay out of the unemployment lines.

Sadly, like Boothbay, more and more high schools are abandoning industrial arts courses. We only hope that guidance counselors are encouraging young people who don’t plan on college careers to take one or two-year specialized technology courses after high school graduation. There are scores of opportunities right here at home for these skilled workers. Let’s not let them fall through the cracks.