Apprenticeship - a Short-Lived Remedy for a Dead End Economy

Old Blowhard doubled the federal dollars to administer the apprenticeship advocacy program run by the Department of Labor. Secretary Acosta said the redoubled effort, "helps states expand apprenticeship, an evidence-based approach to preparing workers for jobs." A model program is found in South Carolina, yet Germany's program is the sine qua non that appears currently out of reach for the U.S.

In promoting apprenticeship, the Blowhard administration and the Green Party are agreed:

The Green Party views learning as a lifelong and life-affirming process to which all people should have access. We cannot state more forcefully our belief that in learning, and openness to learning, we find the foundation of our Platform... 

e. Promote a diverse set of educational opportunities, including bilingual education, continuing education, job retraining, distance learning, mentoring and apprenticeship programs.

However, the budget cuts from other workforce development programs leave me with the uneasy suspicion that apprenticeship was elevated more for the cachet attached to Blowhard's former TV series than for its "evidence-based" effectiveness.

ALI GOLDSTEIN/NBC; RON SACHS/EPA/POOL

While there are a few apprenticeable job titles that align with an emerging green economy, many more are environmentally neutral or antagonistic. Almost none lend themselves to preparing for a return to agrarianism. Keep in mind that before the industrial age, 90% of the population were farmers. I'm estimating that only a decade remains before the industrial age collapses. Note that an apprentice farmer must put in 8,000 hours of on-the-job training and about 600 hours of classroom instruction to become fully trained. There are many who won't be ready in time if agrarianism makes a quick comeback.