'Adult money' and no college debt: Harris and Trump back alternative routes to good jobs
Published 5:12 a.m. ET Sept. 29, 2024 | Updated 8:08 a.m. ET Sept. 29,2024
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump disagree – a lot. But, as the 2024 campaign heats up, the candidates appear to have found consensus on at least one topic: the need to get more young Americans into apprenticeships and trade schools.
Harris announced recently she would cut college degree requirements for some federal jobs and encourage private sector employers to do the same if she is elected in November.
She told the crowd in the former mining town of Wilkes-Barre, Penn., that “for far too long,” the U.S. has “encouraged only one path to success: four-year college.”
“Our nation needs to recognize the value of other paths,” Harris said, noting the importance of apprenticeships and trade programs as she spoke in a largely blue-collar district in the most critical swing state.
Trump has pitched similar policies, too.
As president, in 2020, he signed an executive order mandating that federal agencies prioritize a job applicant’s skills over college degree requirements when hiring. The policy is among the few Trump-era orders President Joe Biden chose not to axe when he took office.
The growing bipartisan focus comes as American attitudes toward higher education have shifted during the last decade.
As the cost of college has skyrocketed, enrollment in undergraduate degree programs has plummeted, and politicians on both sides of the aisle are searching for alternative ways to bolster workforce development.