TV personality turned spokesman for the working class Mike Rowe has gone on a media campaign to close the skills gap. Recently speaking with Dom Giordano, a talk radio host in Philadelphia, Rowe emphasized the importance of understanding the skills gap in this country, and the dire consequences of not addressing it. “The skills gap is a real thing and not a lot of people know about it, but it’s preceded by something that I call a will gap. That’s something that many people don’t like to talk about because it almost immediately makes the topic political,” Rowe said. “What I mean is, the skills gap is clear. There are 5.6 million jobs available right now, 75 percent of which do not require a four-year degree, but rather some sort of meaningful training. We don’t talk about those opportunities in the same way we talk about the people who are unemployed.” Rowe went on to say one of the main reasons for the skills gap in America is that young people are discouraged from persuing trades, as those jobs are considered to be beneath them. “You’re going to disincentivize employers for keeping those opportunities in the mix,” he said.