They have the student measure all kinds of parts--rockerarm shafts and piston pins and clutch plates. Minutia disguised as technique and great for micrometer practice but something no pro mechanic does when rebuilding an engine. The tech school graduate goes into his first shop thinking engine rebuilding is all about measuring seventy-five engine parts. The reality is very few parts require it. Rebuilding is more intense observation and knowing what bad parts look like. He'll be of little use to that shop until he learns the truth. All that measuring was busywork, more or less. Learning to use a micrometer is very important. But measuring every moving part is not real-world.

Some believe trade school enrollment will come up again when the next economic downturn hits. They have observed this happening in the past. Maybe. But something is different this time. Trade schools are in an unprecedented steep decline. Ironic, considering that trades have somehow escaped the clutches of the reculturalists who want us to believe that the world's workers will soon all be punching a computer keyboard. They're once again viable. But for the powersports industry, it isn't enough. The nation's most prominant school is on life support, several others with rich histories have closed their doors, Gen Z or whatever they're called now doesn't even know motorcycles exist, with the result the industry is clinging desperately to a ever-shrinking riding demographic, leaving most OEMs more or less one dismal sales year from bankruptcy. No one can stop change. But it makes me look back on my own trade school experience fondly.