Son of a shopkeeper generated a great deal of feedback. I suspect we all sense the raw edge of artificial intelligence translated and animated by all manner of machinery.
Last year I encountered my first entirely robotic barista at an airport. I keep getting emails on the marvels of drone delivery (everything from packages to explosives). And many of us anticipate the potential of artificial intelligence in health care. So what happens to the truck drivers and baristas and analysts who parse data?
Yet, possibility does not quickly evolve into reality so we have time—time to help people whose lives are or will be disrupted. I was encouraged by an article in today’s Wall Street Journal indicating Amazon is planning to train millions “for cloud-computing roles”.
One response to my column was from my friend Tom Hill who told me, “the Easton Rotary club is raising money for a trade scholarship. In the fiscal year ending in June this year, the Upper Shore Workforce group turned down 66 people who applied in Talbot County – just in Talbot for scholarship help to obtain skilled trade certification in places such as Chesapeake College! The need is large.” Indeed.
I am not a student of community college offerings or of costs and subsidies. But, I can imagine during the intense pressure of the pandemic many candidates for “trade scholarships” have sacrificed their college savings to meet essential day-to-day needs and are in need of scholarship support. While Christmas and work are not normally paired, this Christmas, please support the gifts of work.
Al Sikes is the former Chair of the Federal Communications Commission under George H.W. Bush. Al recently published Culture Leads Leaders Follow published by Koehler Books.
Tom Hill says
Al,
Thank you for calling attention to the need for skilled help in the trades in our county. We desperately need plumbers, electricians, welders, HVAC folks, etc. right here. Ches. College offers courses for about $5,000 which certify people in these trades. If you would like to contribute you can send a check to the Easton Rotary Club Youth & Community Fund–Trade scholarship at PO Box 1623, Easton, Md. 21601. It is a 501c3 charity as such is eligible for a tax deduction.