This week’s “Daily Journal” guest columnist is Donna Martinez, co-host of Carolina Journal Radio.

The saying goes that you’re not a mature adult until you realize your parents weren’t so dumb after all. That moment hit me when my 30-something niece invited me to her nursing school graduation — a milestone I thought she might never reach. That doubt never entered my mom and dad’s minds. Fifteen years ago they supported my niece’s decision to marry, put her husband through school, and start a family. I was concerned those decisions would cost her a college degree, but mom and dad never wavered.

Turns out they weren’t so dumb after all. That award goes to me for taking so long to question society’s push to send as many high school graduates as possible to traditional universities.

My niece had the commitment and judgment to ignore conventional wisdom from school counselors who told her she’d never go to college if she didn’t enroll right away. She wasn’t phased by raised eyebrows and haughty sniffs directed at bright young women who put a husband and children ahead of a career. She happily took the road less traveled. For her willingness to take a risk, she’s spending the summer reviewing job opportunities and signing packages from hospitals and private practices seeking her skills and maturity.

But what about the high schoolers who still face the pressure to conform and enroll in college without clear direction? They find themselves in classes that clash with their interests or for which they’re not prepared or committed. Some wrongly believe they’ll be flipping burgers for a living if they do something unconventional. Others want to avoid society’s disdain for people who make a living with their hands or tools. Still others would rather waste mom and dad’s tuition fund than disappoint them.

What a shame, especially since a look at the future labor market supports the wisdom of taking the nontraditional path to a career. Manpower’s 2009 talent shortage survey (pdf link) showed that 19 percent of U.S. employers surveyed are having a problem filling positions. While that number is down from previous years, it is astonishingly high considering the U.S. unemployment rate is hovering near 10 percent. N.C. State economist Mike Walden predicts North Carolina’s rate will hit 13 percent in the first quarter of next year.

Manpower’s list of tough-to-fill positions is an eyeopener. Few require a traditional degree, and many are commonly referred to as blue-collar: engineer, nurse, skilled trades, teachers, sales representative, technician, driver, IT staff, laborer, and machinist/machine operator.

And, no, blue-collar isn’t synonymous with low-paying. This Web site — one of many that monitor salaries — indicates the median U.S salary of a Machinist II is nearly $42,000. With millions of baby boomers beginning to retire, these job categories are likely to remain a great opportunity since salaries rise to attract scarce resources, and people who work with tools and their hands are in short supply.

Equally important data comes from the U.S. Labor Department’s list of fastest-growing occupations for 2006 to 2016. Health care-related jobs — dental hygienist, medical assistant, home health aides and such — dominate the list. A two-year degree, special certification, or some sort of apprenticeship or on-the-job training is all that’s needed for many of these jobs.

Those in charge of K-12 education can help or hinder efforts to provide training that aligns with these labor trends. Terry Stoops, education policy analyst for the John Locke Foundation, made the case in this report for a robust vocational and technical education effort in middle and high schools. He supports making vocational and technical education the state’s primary dropout prevention program, funded by dollars currently spent on ineffective dropout prevention initiatives.

Another analyst encourages high school students simply to ask themselves a question many parents and educators consider heresy: Should I go to college? In this piece, Jenna Ashley Robinson of the Pope Center for Higher Education Policy lays out alternatives to a traditional four-year degree, including the trades, apprenticeships, the military, and a vocational associate’s degree.

Business and industry constantly adapt to consumer demand, tax and regulatory policy, and periods of recession and prosperity. Ten years from now the market outlook might be different, but for now, targets of opportunity are clear. Now it’s up to educators and parents to adapt, just like businesses do.