For years the skills and maintenance crises were deemed a non-issue and not news-worthy of mainstream media outlets. With the explosion of news coverage before the election and after with the looming fiscal cliff, crises are now dinner-time conversations. Below are a few excerpts of coverage. The greatest thing that all of this coverage is creating, is discussion, debate and action. More technical programs are being developed, more funding sources, scholarships, internships and apprenticeship programs are in development.

Figured that you may enjoy and can share this article I helped develop for the Courier Tribune below. With all of the noise and other idle chatter out there, the real solutions to our problems often get lost. That is why we need to continue to beat the drums in the media to develop more skills and get prepared for the real jobs of the today and tomorrow.

Program seeks machinists, technicians

ASHEBORO — What jobs provide security, compensation and solid futures? What careers can rebuild the Triad region’s economic future?

We all know Mike Rowe as the host of Dirty Jobs on the Discovery Channel, a show that profiles the American laborers who "make their living in the most unthinkable - yet vital - ways." But Mike Rowe is more than just an icon of the small screen. He has used his fame to bring attention to the burgeoning skills gap and the "dysfunctional relationship that the country has with work." In this CNBC interview, Mike addresses education, training and the future of the American worker.

No doubt, you've heard claims that the United States isn't preparing its adolescent citizens to continue the technological innovation that made this country an economic powerhouse earlier in the 20th century. With the entry-level credentials needed for manufacturing rising every year, this "skills gap" might make it difficult for inadequately educated people of any age to participate in the quest for the American dream.