“ I do not know why I need to go to the university ”: Ford CEG says that his son Gen Z worked as a mechanic and wondered if the degree of 4 years was still worth it

But during the opening discussion with the work secretary Lori Chavez-Deremer and Mike Rowe of the Mike Rowe Works Foundation, Farley was vulnerable on how his own family is assigned. “My son worked as a mechanic this summer,” said Farley as he moderates.

Then, said Farley, his son asked a question that amazed his two parents: “Dad, I really like this work. I don’t know why I have to go to university.” Farley said he and his wife looked at himself and wondered: “Should we debate this?” This is something that happens in many American households, he added. “It should be a debate.”

Mathematics does not math

Rowe, a longtime professional defender, has entered data showing that if two skilled trades enter the job market, five are retiring each year. The imbalance, he explained, is “the mathematics which catch up with us” as the generation of baby-boomers is aging and the birth rates drop.

Rowe cited the data of his own life. His own diploma cost $ 12,200 in 1984, he said, when today it would cost something like $ 97,000.

“Nothing in the history of Western civilization has become more expensive, more quickly,” said Rowe. “Not energy, not food, not real estate, not health care (nothing has been more inflated) than the cost of a four -year degree.”

The Associated Press said that yes, many colleges brought about $ 95,000 per year in April 2024, but the financial aid system reduced this in practice. However, it is overall true that inflation for tuition fees, health care and housing costs has far exceeded this for, say, televisions, toys and software, showing that Rowe makes a solid point. With such high costs, the college value proposal is seriously examined.

Fortune reported several entrepreneurs from the Z generation who dived directly into the trades instead of going to university. One, at 23, was already his own boss and earned more than $ 100,000 per year, and the other, 19, was heading. Both have had parallel jostles as influencers of social media, adding another source of income. Marlo Loria, director of vocational and technical education and innovative partnerships in Mesa public schools in Arizona, said that she often offered options to students different from a traditional four -year diploma.

“Our young people want to know why. Why should I go to university? Why do I want to go into debt? Why do I want to do these things? ” She said that “because I told you” does not cut it anymore.

A way back to the American dream?

The work secretary Chavez-Deremer echoes this feeling, affirming that the government, the educators and the industry must be associated to make the qualified trades attractive to young Americans.

“For too long, we have not brought good people to the table,” she said, stressing the need for collaboration so that “companies are heard, and the American workforce is valued.”

Chavez-Deremer argued that if the American American wanted to have a well-paid job and a mortgage, they should strongly consider the professions.

She asked, “Do you know that most of our children aged 35 and 40 will not be able to buy a house anywhere near the future?”

It’s time in people’s lives when they try to develop their family, and the current American economy does not prepare them to do so, she said. She said that graduates of business schools are often emerging earning more than $ 100,000 per year. The average merchant will be released by earning around $ 11,000 more than a university graduate, she said.

The essential obstacle, says Rowe, is not only the economy but stigma.

“Stigmata and stereotypes and myths, and erroneous perceptions have conspired to prevent a whole generation of children from giving an honest glance to transactions,” he said. Until culture changes and people recognize the dignity and the opportunity of these jobs, attempts to fill the gaps in the workforce will be “quixotics or Sisypheans”.

The question of AI

Asked about the fear of AI and robotics could replace human workers, the two panelists were optimistic. Chavez-Deremer compared the transition to previous industrial and technological revolutions, declaring: “We adapt. We are an adaptable people. ” She pointed out that AI should be considered a tool that is empowered and not replaces them, the essential workforce.

“Companies recommended their employees,” she said. “R&D shows us (they will create new types of jobs.”

Rowe added that “AI arrives for coders, not yet for welders”, reflecting resilience and growing demand for trades. He argued that each vocation “on the front line” from welding to the adjustment of pipes, now sees a boom, and AI will not touch this. Rowe also cited the remarks covered by Fortune From the CEO of Nvidia, Jensen Huang, on the need for blue passes to supply the infrastructure of data center underlying the BOOM of the AI. He also mentioned that the comments of the CEO of Blackrock, Larry Fink, his portfolio of 12 billions of dollars and more depended on enough electricians, a sector less than hundreds of thousands of workers.

“The biggest CEOs in our country (sound) the sounds of metaphorical alarm,” said Rowe, calling it a “macro problem” that the essential economy can solve.

Global Forum fortune returns on October 26 to 27, 2025 in Riyadh. CEOs and world leaders will meet for a dynamic event only invitation that shapes the future of business. Request an invitation.