The American Labor Crisis

and how Classroom:Powered is part of the solution.

May marks the one year anniversary of Classroom:Powered and we wanted to share with you one of the reasons behind this project: we saw a need.

Texas is facing a labor crisis. It is predicted that by 2030, the state will be facing a labor shortage in many job markets. The state will be short 4000 HVAC technicians, 7000 plumbers, and 10,000 electricians. 

In 2019, 355,000 students graduated from Texas public schools. 32% of those students are not found in a Texas public college, in the workforce, or in the military. This isn’t just a Texas issue; the United States is facing a labor crisis. According to recently released research by Dr. Nicholas Eberstadt, 7.2 million males from 25 to 54 years of age are not in the workforce.

How could this have happened?

You can trace a lot of this back to schools, which stripped out “blue collar” educational opportunities. For example, let's go back to Texas. 91% of students in Texas do not have access to many of these programs through the Career and Technical Education (CTE) opportunities available through their school district. Out of 355,000 students that graduated from Texas public high schools in 2019 only 34 students in the entire state graduated with a credential in oil and gas and other blue collar programs fared no better.

It’s not just that these jobs have been stripped out of education, they are portrayed as “second-rate.” They’re not respected. Students have been taught for decades now that a four-year college is the only path forward for success, especially for boys. 

The data, however, show that’s not the case. In Texas, the oil and gas industry directly employs more than 443,000 hardworking Texans in quality, high-paying jobs with an average salary of $115,000 according to 2022 data from TXOGA. Indirectly, another 2.2 million Texans are employed indirectly in oil and gas. There are 2000 openings a day for workers in oil and gas. 

So, what is Classroom:Powered doing to address this shortage and empower students to make the best career decisions for themselves?

We are promoting thoughtful, fact-based resources based on Texas TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills) that feed into many of these jobs such as electricians, HVAC specialists, and oil and gas workers. This spring, we hosted Energy Day at a school in Midland. We will be hosting more Energy Days in the fall during Energy Awareness Month. This specific opportunity is for 4th graders, and the purpose is to show them the amazing things about the energy industry, as leaders and experts–who are sometimes the kids’ parents–come in to lead the classes through discussions and activities to show them the power and necessity of energy.

We also are working with 20 teachers this summer in our Summer Energy STEM Institute pilot. These teachers will work through lesson plans and will have the opportunity to visit different energy production sites to show them exactly where the energy that powers their lives comes from. 

Lastly, we are working with industry leaders to help support students getting certified in Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses. We have been creating energy related lesson plans since 2019 that can be used across grade levels and subject areas.

It’s time to debunk the myth that these jobs are unwanted. We believe that offering students access to information about these types of jobs is a great way to encourage them to explore a career path that is best for them. These are essential jobs to our economy and have the power to lift people out of poverty with the earning potential. 

To make it easy to access materials, we created this Substack to house lesson plans, videos, and updates.  We are also excited that soon, we will have classroom teachers work with us to  expedite the process of writing lesson plans and getting them in schools as quickly as possible. 

You can follow along to see all our latest updates by subscribing, and please share with a teacher you know and parents who are helping their kids figure out the career path that is best for them, including in fields like oil and gas, plumbing, and construction which are vital to creating a robust economy.