Study Finds Vocational Students Prefer Tried and True Jobs Over New Economy/Internet Ones

    LOS ANGELES--March 15, 2001--The results of a study looking at vocational students' views of their career priorities and prospects were released today.
    Initiated by Miller Brewing Co.'s TOOLS FOR SUCCESS(R) award program, the study found that, despite technical know-how and sophistication, the vocational students surveyed were more interested in job security and stability than being on the technological cutting edge.
    Given a choice between two job descriptions, one with some form of Internet application and another more traditional hands-on position, the majority (67 percent) preferred the more traditional job over the New Economy one (33 percent).
    "We knew that this group was fairly conservative when it came to work," said Victor Franco, study sponsor and Community Affairs manager, Miller Brewing Co. "But, what surprised us was just how little they cared about the Internet craze going on around them. This was the case despite pointing out the myriad of advantages of Internet work."
    While all 250 students surveyed are computer and technologically literate, because that is what is required in their trades today, the study found that most were not interested in working via the Internet. "They have a balanced relationship with technology," said Franco. "It's certainly not going to replace the satisfaction they get from establishing strong roots and interpersonal relationships."
    In fact, socializing in some form, including social contact, working and exchanging ideas with others, ranked high in importance among the majority of students, regardless of whether they chose traditional or New Economy jobs.
    Among carpentry students, for example, more than half (62 percent) indicated that exchanging ideas with others was the best feature of the traditional job. Thirty percent were concerned they wouldn't have that contact in the New Economy position.
    The survey also found that the vocational students had greater patience and job loyalties than many workers caught up in the job-hopping trend spurred by the recent Internet industry consolidation and the rapid increase in "contingent" workers.
    Seventy-nine percent of surveyed students indicated they plan to work for a company a minimum of three years before changing to a new one. Sixty percent said they would wait at least five years before moving on.
    According to the study, vocational students were optimistic about their job prospects with 80 percent expecting to start work immediately upon graduation. Forty-eight percent were confident that they're prepared for a job in the real world, and only 3 percent feared they wouldn't make enough money.
    "They have every reason to feel confident," said Linda Wong, Program director of the Community Development Technologies Center in Los Angeles. "There are tremendous opportunities in the skilled trades today. With employers eager to attract skilled workers, these jobs offer what is not always easy to find elsewhere: excellent pay, stability and long-term advancement and growth potential."
    Wong goes on to say that the shortage of skilled trade workers is one of the nation's most rampant problems and that the situation is especially acute in California, because of the diversified manufacturing base in the state. There are 50,000 construction jobs open in California alone and nationwide in the tool and die industry there are 24,000 jobs, each paying $45,000 per annum, left unfilled.
    The TOOLS FOR SUCCESS(R) student study was undertaken in conjunction with COMsciences Worldwide, a research and planning firm in Los Angeles' mid-Wilshire District. Last month, 250 vocational students were surveyed in five different technical trades (Auto Mechanics, Carpentry, Cosmetology, Culinary Arts and Electrical Construction).
    The students were in enrolled at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College (LATTC) in downtown Los Angeles. All of the students surveyed are expected to enter the workforce full-time within the next 1-2 years. Most are already working at least part-time.
    TOOLS FOR SUCCESS(R) is celebrating its 10th anniversary in Los Angeles this year. The award program was created in 1992 to put "job-ready" employees into industry. Since then the company has spent nearly $700,000 in scholarships in Los Angeles with more than 220 vocational graduates receiving the tools and equipment necessary to succeed in the workplace.
    This year in Los Angeles, 19 vocational graduates in 13 trades are expected to receive the tools they need to enter the workforce. An awards ceremony and luncheon honoring this year's winners will take place on Thursday, April 19, 2001, at LATTC's Grand Theatre.