What if the workforce crisis isn't about lazy kids or entitled generations—but about a complete failure to show young people the pathways that actually exist? Michael Wilson from GenTech is proving that early exposure changes everything, from elementary students programming Amazon warehouse robots to former farm workers' kids seeing automation as opportunity instead of threat.
This conversation cuts through the usual workforce development rhetoric to reveal what's actually working: turnkey programs that bring expertise directly to underserved schools, real-world projects that make learning relevant, and pathways that don't require families to go into debt to maybe figure out what their kids want to do.
Key insights you'll discover:
• Why computer science should be required in K-12 (and the simple reason it isn't)
• How to reframe automation from job-killer to career creator for skeptical students
• The turnkey approach that removes barriers for under-resourced schools
• Why construction workers are the ultimate neighborhood heroes hiding in plain sight
• What happens when less than 1% of high school seniors know their post-graduation plans
• The economic reality: trade workers buying houses while college grads pay off debt
• How early exposure creates full-circle impact when students become instructors
Whether you're in workforce development, education, or infrastructure leadership, this episode reveals practical strategies for building the talent pipeline we desperately need—without waiting for systemic change that may never come.
The future workforce isn't something we're preparing for. It's something we're building right now, one classroom at a time.
Connect with Michael Wilson:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/gtmichael/
Connect with Valerie's non-profit, Hands-On Heroes
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https://www.marajadeconsulting.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/datacenterchic/
Connect with Val:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/valerie-crafton-mba-0362b816/
https://valconsultants.com/