Secretary of Education Linda McMahon calls for elementary students to be put on ‘pathway’ to become plumbers

Education Secretary Linda McMahon said elementary students should be placed on career pathways toward trades like plumbing and electrical work, citing demand for skilled labor to build AI data centers. McMahon argued not every child needs college and advocated tracking students by aptitude starting in elementary school. The Trump administration has promoted vocational education while cutting billions in education and research grants, including nearly $2 billion from the University of California system.

Secretary of Education Linda McMahon calls for elementary students to be put on ‘pathway’ to become plumbers The Trump administration has pushed to prioritize apprenticeships and technical education while at the same time cutting billions in education and research funding - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments Children should be funneled towards career paths such as plumbing or being electricians as early as elementary school, according to Education Secretary Linda McMahon /news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-mcmahon-education-special-civil-rights-b2996971.html , amid high demand for skilled tradespeople and a brewing labor shortage as the country looks to rapidly build AI data centers. “Not every child needs a college education,” McMahon said in an interview on Thursday on Mornings With Maria on Fox Business. “Let’s develop the skills that children have a natural propensity for and not force them into a path of education that’s not going to serve them well.” “We need electricians and plumbers and we need HVAC operators /news/business/gen-z-data-employment-government-b2923269.html and data engineers, all of that,” she added. “So let’s provide the kind of education for them, get them into pathways towards that education, starting even in elementary, middle schools, high schools.” Separating students based on potential future academic and career paths, known as “ tracking /news/ap-livingston-schools-south-carolina-columbia-b2432220.html ,” has long been divisive. Backers argue it better prepares students for the workforce and aligns curriculum with their interests and skills, while critics contend tracking reinforces inequality and denies children opportunities to pursue certain kinds of education. The Trump administration has made a point of emphasizing vocational education /bulletin/lifestyle/ai-jobs-gen-z-trades-b2949779.html and attacking big universities it accuses of being bastions of liberal ideology and discrimination. It has launched programs including federal Pell Grant aid https://www.ccdaily.com/2026/07/dont-get-too-excited-about-workforce-pell-yet/ for students attending short-term vocational courses, and its agreement with Brown University to end federal discrimination investigations included the Ivy League school committing to investing $50 million into workforce organizations in Rhode Island. The Education Department this month is rolling out a role that will eventually require federally supported education programs to pass graduates who earn more money than those with only high school diplomas https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/trump-slashed-billions-for-education-in-2025-see-our-list-of-affected-grants/2026/01 . At the same time, critics have accused the administration of undermining the same kind of STEM, workforce development and manufacturing jobs it aims to uplift. Throughout 2025, as part of its crusade to shrink federal spending and crack down on diversity programs, the Trump administration slashed hundreds of education grants across dozens of programs totaling billions of dollars https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/trump-slashed-billions-for-education-in-2025-see-our-list-of-affected-grants/2026/01 . In California, federal agencies canceled more than 1,000 research grants worth nearly $2 billion https://calmatters.org/education/higher-education/2026/07/research-grants-california-2/ to the well-regarded University of California system, with administration officials admitting they used a keyword search for words such as diversity, gender, vaccine hesitancy and Covid to identify programs that went against the Trump agenda. The administration has also directed parts of its immigration crackdown on university campuses, targeting green card holders /news/american-civil-liberties-union-supreme-court-columbia-university-donald-trump-algeria-b2982282.html for arrest based on their political speech, revoking student visas /news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-deportation-immigration-salvador-b2738282.html and pushing schools to cooperate with Homeland Security /news/american-civil-liberties-union-supreme-court-columbia-university-donald-trump-algeria-b2982282.html on immigration raids and surveillance. On a macro level, the Trump administration has by some metrics failed to live up to the second part of its trade workforce agenda: creating manufacturing jobs for skilled tradespeople to work in once they’re done training. The country has shed about 75,000 manufacturing jobs /news/american-civil-liberties-union-supreme-court-columbia-university-donald-trump-algeria-b2982282.html since Trump took office, with some experts pointing to policies such as the White House tariff agenda and the war with Iran as stifling business investment. Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments comments-area