Agree 1000%, but like most skilled trades it's been an uphill battle to get kids interested in them. Fortunately between the college's crazy tuition hikes over the last 10-15 years and trade-based organizations like Mike Rowe Works (ala Dirty Jobs tv show) promoting the trades and offering scholarships to those seeking to go into the trades the tide is turning - ever so slowly, but it's turning. Even so, the vast majority of those interested in going into the trades probably never even consider gunsmithing. There do seem to be more schools offering programs these days, but whether they're quality programs or not is anyone's guess.
The other issue is how we define precisely what a gunsmith is. Every Gander Mountain store had a gunsmith, but they didn't really do anything other than mount scopes for customers and maybe do a Cerakote job here and there. Then there are the ones who have a full machine shop and know how to use said machines (lathes, mills, etc.) and have the knowledge and skill set to make or repair most anything related to a firearm. That's a pretty big difference in the level of work, yet both are technically gunsmiths. There's actually no training requirement to be a gunsmith. No required certificate or apprenticeship program, no degree, not even a basic knowledge test. The only thing one "technically" needs to have to be a gunsmith and engage in the business of gunsmithing is a Type 01 FFL license which is the same as a standard (non-NFA) dealers license.
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