According to the Department of Labor, as of April 11th, 2017, there were 5.7 million job openings in America. At a minimum approximately 1.4 million of those openings were technical skill or trade related. That is 1.4 million well-paying positions that go unfilled because Americans lack the training to adequately perform the duties of those jobs. There is no secondary education institution that can alleviate this shortfall. No bachelors degree, Masters, or PHD that will qualify your son or daughter to take on these careers. What is needed? Hands-on training in skills and trades that have existed for centuries. Electricians, plumbers, carpenters, artists, builders, and makers. In spite of the glaringly undeniable statistics shop class is dead in almost every school system in America. Why? Liability concerns and a fear of the litigious society in which we now live. The lack of skilled tradesmen and women is expected to only grow worse with time.

I would like to propose a possible solution: a mobile Makerspace where your sons and daughters can lean the skills they need to excel in a blue (and white) collar world. This mobile Makerspace will come to your child’s school, Boy Scout Troop, social outreach program, MakerFaire, etc. It will open it’s doors and unpack a complete Makerspace in the parking lot, campground space, lobby, exhibition space, or front yard.

You say you have no need for this, your son is going to be an engineer. OK, that is a wonderful and rewarding career. Does he know how to design an end table? Can he sketch out a design for a bookcase? Can he MAKE a simple jewelry box? Can your engineer-to-be son use basic tools to create a scale model of his ideas? There is no sense hoping higher education will teach him the way. He can learn NOW.

You say you have no need for this, your daughter is going to be a doctor. OK, that is a wonderful and rewarding career. Does she know how to fix her leaking bathroom sink? Can she sketch out a design for a new entertainment center? Can she MAKE a jewelry organizer to hang in her closet? Can your doctor-to-be daughter use basic tools to create a scale model of her pioneering medical device idea? There is no sense hoping higher education will teach her the way. She can learn NOW.

I realize secondary education is an important and vital component of American society, however, it is not the end-all-be-all. If your sons and daughters choose academia then wonderful! But if they should choose the honorable path of being tradesmen and women then they need an exceptional environment in which to learn those skills. At a minimum American men and women need to be educated to maintain and repair their worlds on their own. To be independent in their home life.

If they so choose, they need to be able to maintain and repair their neighbors’ failing heater, leaky kitchen sink, or antiquated home wiring as a way of supporting their own families. The career path of a tradesman or woman should be no more difficult to follow than a bachelors degree.

To this end I now ask for your assistance. I want to create a community of 501(c)3 tuition-free mobile Makerspaces to serve schools and neighborhoods where a brick-and-mortar Makerspace would never exist otherwise. To create a skill-building curriculum for each age group and/ or school grade that will build on the previous year’s curriculum and so on. The end result will be young men and women who graduate high school equipped to design, build, and make to highest of their abilities. Should they choose secondary education they will be capable of self-sufficiency at home. Should they choose a trade or skill-based career they will ready to enter the workforce and excel as no other before them. They will be ready to fill those 1.4 million open positions that are waiting for them. Unemployment and poverty will no longer be a fear they have to confront.

To make this dream a reality I need corporate partners: tool manufacturers, vehicle manufacturers, business mentors, financial institutions, investors, teachers, Makers, builders, and artists.

Are you willing to participate? Are you willing to invest your time, or skill, or expertise, or money, or experience, or enthusiasm to this cause? Is the future of this country, of your children, of your neighbors worth the effort and expense? I would argue it is without doubt. I am willing to do whatever I can to facilitate this program.

What are my qualifications? I live the life I speak of. I am a high school dropout. I am also a husband, father, United States Marine, Iraq War Veteran (x2), and a Maker. I am a blue-collar worker: a municipal Police Officer of almost a decade. I have a desire to ensure the future of America is FILLED with builders, artists, designers, creators, experimenters, and Makers of all kinds.

The pilot program will serve two counties: Jefferson and Shelby County, Alabama. Jefferson County had approximately 600,000 residents as of the 2000 census. Approximately 164,000 of those were under 18, and about 32,000 of those under 18 live below the poverty line. Shelby County had about 195,000 residents as of the 2010 Census and there were approximately 50,000 children under the age of 18 residing in the county. Of those, approximately 10% live below the poverty line.

The pilot program will consist of a supervisory board of a minimum of three Program Mentors; local, experienced private business owners. They will not be compensated nor personally invested in the program. They will provide guidance and oversight only. The intent is to have two trucks, one per county, to start. This will not serve all schools, social organizations, and municipalities in these counties, but will provide for a test-bed of sorts to work out all details while keeping costs low.

The intent is to grow the program nationwide. Each state, and/ or region will be independently operated under the umbrella 501(c)3 organization.

If you are willing and able to participate, help, volunteer, provide resources, or assist in anyway, please send an email to Mike@LeatherneckGarage.com

In the least, I would GREATLY appreciate it if you would share this post on social media, or send it to your local businesses, or your local banks and credit unions, or local charities, or local politicians, or anyone. In order for this dream to transform into a reality it needs to get in front of as many eyeballs as possible.

With full and complete sincerity, Thank You.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, to share this, to offer to help. This is a true and dire need for our country.

Mike Jeffcoat of Leatherneck Garage