At Legal Insurrection, we reported that hundreds of college students at the CPAC conference chose to #StandWithRand, in support of the Kentucky senator’s historic filibuster.

In an entirely different context, colleges were mentioned at the event by another senator noted for his conservatism: Marco Rubio.  But not in a good way — the Florida representative expressed his concerns that information on vital, trade-oriented, career options are not being made available to young Americans.

Sen. Marco Rubio, who has made higher education reform a big part of his platform as a public official, has brought the issue to the forefront again.

Speaking at CPAC on Thursday, he essentially touted the notion that there is too much of an emphasis on 4-year college degrees – to the detriment of vocational fields, a valid and honorable pathway, as well as a vital one to this nation and its economy and backbone.

Meanwhile, he argued, liberal arts college grads are swamped with debt and stuck in dead-end jobs.

Via Laura Byrne at Red Alert Politics:

“Not everyone has to go to a four-year liberal arts college. We still need plumbers,” Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) told the audience during his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday.

“Why aren’t we graduating more kids not just with a high school diploma but with an industry certification degree?” he asked the auditorium full of conservatives.

According to Rubio,there are 3 million jobs that aren’t being filled because Americans don’t have the right skills for these jobs.

“They need skills for these jobs,” he continued.”So, instead of being a receptionist, she can be an ultra-sound tech.”

Rubio also argued that not only are not enough Americans acquiring useful skills, but so many of these same Americans are graduating from four-year universities swamped in student debt.

“You should be very concerned about student loan debt,” the Florida senator warned the crowd.

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