by KYW's Dr. Marciene Mattleman

According to The Wall Street Journal, the shortage of welders, pipe fitters, masons and other high demand workers will probably get worse as more people in those fields reach retirement.

To highlight the benefits of a career in the skilled trades, unions and construction contractors are turning to high schools, the military, YouTube and MySpace to attract young workers.

Mike Rowe, the host of the Discovery Channel series, “Dirty Jobs.,” understands the need for marketing in those fields and the program has shown him tackling jobs like alpaca shearing and steel working.

Rowe’s role extols the virtues of manual labor. He says, “We’ve made work the enemy.”

While the value of college isn’t disputed, the approach stresses the benefits of high salaries and no college debt. Cited is Dusty Henry, a 25-year-old electrician in Portland, Oregon, who earns $34 an hour working on renewable energy projects.

Strategies such as workers coming into schools to spread the word, teaching kids how to make bridges with popsicle sticks, and more apprenticeships are geared toward motivating needed workers when the economy improves.