President Obama recently visited Hudson Valley Community College in New York to speak about the recession and how we as a nation are going to climb out of it. As an implication to his message, he noted that better education and infrastructure (more plumbers, construction workers, etc) are the best cures to not only make our ailing economy well, but to keep it well. The President stated that “our great challenge will be to ensure that we do not just drift into the future, [but] shape a brighter future through hard work and innovation.” With his emphasis on education and infrastructure strengthening, we now know the tools we need and the opportunities available to make tomorrow a more prosperous day for America and Americans.

Nationwide, unemployment is at 9.7 percent, the highest level since 1983. In the last few months, Obama has vowed that by 2020, America will once again have the world’s highest proportion of college graduates. He knows that Community Colleges are a very big key in reaching that goal. There are now approximately 1,200 community colleges in America. These popular institutions that allow for flexibility as well as affordability allow for several different types of degree programs and time schedules for people of all backgrounds. Education cannot only be for the rich or the perfectly situated. It must be open to everyone with every type of economic challenge. That is the reason why the President continues to make Community Colleges an intense focus in his itinerary.

While at Hudson Valley Community College, Obama checked out the labs where students work with transformers and power distribution projects. Saying “This looks complicated” made the students feel proud and accomplished since they were working with projects that confuse even the president. But this is the essence of infrastructure and education – having students get the expertise to make using this incredible technology easy for the average American.

Now here are the facts. In June U.S. construction spending rose 0.3 percent, with spending for public buildings reaching a record rise of 1.0 percent ($321.75 billion). This figure is the highest on record and bodes well for the construction industry. This extremely positive sign let’s people in or interested in the field breathe easier after the construction spending dropped .8 percent in May, according to the Commerce Department. With this increase, many analysts feel that the nation’s economic direction will finally shift upward.

The recession, already claiming 5.7 million jobs, has had devastating effects on men under 35 and men without college degrees. Jobs such as construction managers, architects, engineers, plumbers, and welders are and will be waiting to be filled by those with the training to fill them. Obama stated quite plainly that new ideas produce new jobs. That’s why Hudson Valley Community College receiving $2 million in federal grants to promote environmentally friendly jobs/energy efficient programs is a boost to both infrastructure and education. This is precisely where Obama hoped progress would be heading, binding the two missions of cutting edge classrooms and cutting edge technological degrees to help America grow in IQ and income. “Our strategy begins where innovation so often does: in the classroom and in the laboratory — and in the networks that connect them to the broader economy. These are the building blocks of innovation: education, infrastructure and research.”

These are the building blocks for a recession-proof America, as well as for your future success. Check out the programs available to you today.