2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

First, let’s be clear; building and technical skilled trades cannot exist without engineering. Even though these disciplines are labor intensive, they are based on engineering and require some knowledge and understanding of basic engineering concepts. Unfortunately, there is a misconception that building and technical skilled trades are the “go-to” option for students who either don’t want to or are unable to pursue the traditional engineering disciplines (i.e., mechanical, civil, electrical and chemical engineering). The underlying inference of this misconception is that the building and technical skilled trades are easier or less challenging from an academic standpoint, and hence more attractive to these students. However, the students enrolled in these programs would probably take issue with this misguided inference. These technical programs are anything but a leisurely stroll in the park. They are all based on standard engineering concepts and principles, and the same standard and level of instruction applied in teaching engineering concepts is applied to teaching the technical trades as well.
Most students who choose building and technical skilled trades do so with the whole-hearted conviction that this is what they really want to do. In fact, if you ask these students if they would ever want to pursue a traditional engineering program, most of them would respond with an unqualified “No.” Of course it’s the same with four-year engineering students who have no intention of pursuing a technical skilled trade. But once in a blue moon, say maybe one percent of the time, you might find a student from either side of the fence who may want to change programs or perhaps study a mixture of the two. While this would be an ideal situation, it isn’t likely to ever happen; the reason being that four-year engineering schools don’t offer technical skilled trades programs. This is where community colleges play a vital role in education. They do offer these programs which can be a good starting point for students who may be undecided or still weighing their options between the two types of education. And if a technical skilled trades student is perhaps leaning toward traditional engineering, community colleges also offer basic engineering curricula that will help pave the way for the transition. On the other hand, students enrolled at a traditional four-year engineering school who are sitting on the fence still undecided, don’t have this option and can only be advised to pursue one of the strong sciences like math, physics, chemistry, biology, and most recently computer science. Of course, a student at a four-year engineering school can always contact a community college or technical school for more information to help them make their decision.
The goal of this paper is to clearly describe the building and technical skilled trades, along with the many job opportunities, focusing on the architecture, automotive, and construction trades, as well as machining, electrical systems, electronics and industrial systems technology. However, added emphasis will be placed on the role of engineering in teaching these subjects and how it impacts the curriculum.