THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, March 13, 1995 TAG: 9503120230
SECTION: BUSINESS WEEKLY PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Ted Evanoff
LENGTH: Medium: 82 lines
You may have seen the story the other day about BMW. Workers turned out the first marketable cars in the German automaker's new plant near Greenville, S.C.
Publicity surrounded BMW in '92 when it put up the big assembly plant in the Appalachian foothills. Critics contended South Carolina lavished incentives on BMW to overshadow another possible site in Nebraska.
Lost in the controversy, though, was a quiet fact. BMW liked both Nebraska and South Carolina partly because each had solid vocational schools. That's right, South Carolina eventually trained workers to operate BWW's fancy production machinery.
What brings BMW to mind is the story of Earl Fontanilla, a burly longshoreman in Norfolk who has seen a vast change in his lifetime.
A union card, once the ticket to the good life, has given way in American thought to the notion that a college degree is the key. This idea appeals to lots of people.
However, when the alarms sound about the tight budgets constricting Virginia universities, it's worth remembering that the trade schools and community colleges are as important to Tidewater's livelihood.
Fontanilla grew up in a family of Norfolk teachers. When it was time to earn a living, much to his family's chagrin, he overlooked teaching. He headed for the docks at Lamberts Point.
``Back then, the longshoremen were considered the aristocracy of the skilled trades,'' Fontanilla said. ``You have to remember, this was the South. There weren't a lot of jobs for blacks back then.''
Back then was 1963. A hard- working longshoreman could earn more than $10,000 a year, which had a buying power of about $40,000 today.
Fontanilla put aside thoughts of law school, figuring he wasn't good at public speaking, and spent his working life in the holds of ships on the Elizabeth River. He retired a few years ago with a bad leg.
What's remarkable in his story is a simple idea. Today it is rare for anyone in his or her 20s to land a $40,000 job with nothing more than a strong back and a high school education. Good jobs seem precious now.
When freighters docked at Lamberts Point in the '60s, as many as 125 longshoremen labored five days aboard each vessel, moving 125 tons per hour. Today, 32 longshoremen can easily move 600 tons an hour on a container ship and, in some cases, as much as 2,000 tons per hour.
What changed it all are the proliferation of vessels designed to haul containers, the metal boxes wielded into place by huge cranes.
Surprisingly enough, if he were starting out today, Fontanilla said he wouldn't enroll in law school. Nor would he go on the docks. He'd pick a job that employed his head and his hands. He'd pick something in skilled trades.
It's not a foolish notion. Five years ago, the Virginia Employment Commission forecast the fastest growing occupations through 2005. Research analysts and computer engineers ranked first and second.
Of course, research analysts are few and far between. In fact, only 22 percent of the U.S. population by 1990 had obtained at least a bachelor's degree in any discipline. Tidewater's workforce reflects this trend.
In the six cities where most people in the region live (Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach), 12 percent of those employed by companies are executives or administrators. Another 14.4 percent have professional occupations such as physician or architect, the '90 U.S. Census says.
Three-fourths of the workforce are technicians, clerks, craftsmen, machine operators. America and Tidewater remain essentially blue-collar. This won't change soon.
When the Virginia Employment Commission forecast demand in the state for 14,500 more computer engineers and research analysts through 2005, it also predicted the next 11 fast-growing occupations would account for 57,000 new jobs.
Only one of those 11 occupations, systems analyst, demands a full college education. The other 10 jobs require the specific training afforded in community colleges and technical schools rather than universities. These jobs are physical therapists, home care aides, paralegals, travel agents, human services workers, medical assistants, radiology technicians, health technicians, jailers and flight attendants.
Yes, we need engineers and scientists. And like Greenville, we also need a workforce able to control the machinery that performs chores once done largely by hand. We need strong trade schools. by CNB