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JUNE 2024 I PCB007 MAGAZINE 41 and must backfill that position in which they had trained someone for seven years. So, what does that company do? Will they take another untrained operator and make that investment again, or would they rather hire a technician who has credentials and has been educated and trained in a standardized pro- gram? Now the company knows exactly what the technician is capable of when they make the hiring decision. e technician has the cre- dentials to validate the learning and training they claim to have. e company can have con- fidence the technician possesses a particular level of competency. So, what's happening here? Where is the disconnect? You can't play both sides. As a company, you can't say, "I'll only train our workforce on our processes and with our training," but then also say, "I have a hard time finding ready-to-work trained talent." Organizations can't opt out of industry training, and also ask, "Where is my qualified workforce?" e reason we don't have a trained workforce is because you don't have this standardized training organized into career pathways. e history of technical certifications in the United States goes back decades. ese types of credentials were important to facilitate hir- ing. For example, if I want to hire an electri- cian to work on my building, how do I know they won't do faulty work that might some- day burn down my building? eir credentials mean they have a specific set of knowledge and skills to do this work and do it safely. ey know the rules, and they have licensure from an indepen- dent entity that vali- dates those claims as true. e same thing is true for engineers. A college degree is just a mechanism for proof of a certain type of knowledge and sub- ject matter competency. In this white paper, you talk about the tradi- tional stigma of blue-collar work. I grew up in an area and time where there were more technical and trade schools, which were considered great careers. What is the stigma now regarding manufacturing jobs? Is it simply a matter of marketing? From an economic development perspective, the U.S. does not view manufacturing jobs as the ideal place to put our talent. Why don't we as a country prioritize manufacturing jobs any- more? It's partially because industries across the country have been outsourcing this type of work to emerging economies for decades and partially because we've convinced ourselves that good jobs require a college degree. But we're seeing a shi. Now, as a country, we have determined that much of this manufacturing must continue domestically for national secu- rity purposes, to secure supply chains, and to strengthen the economy. We have competing forces. For decades, there was a natural eco- nomic force that everyone should go to col- lege and become an engineer, lawyer, or doc- tor. At the same time, we had the message that we needed people in manufacturing. It creates a complex situation. You grew up in an area with a lot of manufac- turing, and you knew these jobs were available. It was different for me. I actually didn't know it was an option. For me, it was all about getting into a good university, graduating, and getting