Earlier this year, Ford CEO Jim Farley said that America needed a wake-up call. Five thousand mechanic jobs at Ford had gone unfilled. They all offered six-figure salaries—well above the average American worker’s wage—but people weren’t applying.
And Ford isn’t the only employer struggling with a shortfall of workers. For over a decade, numerous blue-collar professions—careers that include manual labor ranging from manufacturing and automotive technicians to construction—have struggled to attract young people.
