Having Good Choices to Make

I am the proud parent of a very-soon-to-be 12-year-old. He’s reaching that age where he’s doing more things on his own, like basketball practice, hangouts with friends, walking himself home from school—that sort of thing.

And the constant refrain from his parents as we’re dropping him off or watching him leave is, “Make good choices!” Which we say sort of as a joke, but also sort of not. He’s a responsible kid, but he’s still a kid after all. And making good choices (typically) leads to good outcomes, while making bad choices… does not.

Earlier this month I attended the PHCC’s Legislative Conference, and it got me thinking about choices, and how very often the ability to make good choices comes down to having those good choices available in the first place.

A key concern for the PHCC’s members is energy policy, specifically bans on natural gas-fired water-heating appliances. While the push towards electrification has may laudable end-goals (such as getting more carbon out of the atmosphere), there are still plenty of buildings that weren’t built for (for example) an electric boiler, there are places in the country where electricity rates are prohibitively high, and there are some families who simply can’t afford the upfront cost of, say, an electric heat pump water heater, no matter what the long-term savings might be.

So flexible options—the freedom to choose—makes a lot of sense. And that freedom should work both ways. The Energy Choice Act (H.R. 3699)—a bill waiting consideration by the House—would prohibit the banning of any energy source, be it natural gas, solar, wind or biomass.

Another key concern of the conference was legislation impacting skilled trades training, such as the Workforce Innovation and Opportunities Act (WIOA), and the Perkins Career and Technical Education program (Perkins CTE). So, making the choice affordable for those young people who might be thinking about a career in the trades.

But of almost equal importance is changing the narrative surrounding the skilled trades. For too many young people, a four-year college degree is held up as the only path to a successful future, while the trades are barely in the conversation. The choices you don’t know about are the choices you never get to make. Luckily, it looks like this narrative is starting to change.

Which brings me to this month’s feature, our Under 30 All-Stars. This is one of my favorite regular features because I get to talk to young people just starting out in the trades, learn what drew them to their new careers, and discover what their hopes are for the future.

The all-stars this year include a social media influencer, a 21-year-old welder (who will be representing the US at the upcoming WorldSkills competition in Shanghai), and even a revisit with one of last year’s all-stars. But maybe my favorite story involves a young man, Kaiser Neuhaus, who was one day on a tour of the University of Northern Iowa.

The thought of taking on so much debt earning a university degree disturbed him to the point that he ditched the tour, walked into the office of Bergen Plumbing, and filled out a job application. Today, Kaiser is 19 and one of the youngest Journeymen plumbers in the history of the state.

Which proves my point about good choices leading to good outcomes. (Even if those choices might seem a bit impulsive.)