"Tough as Nails" Phil Keoghan on Why Trade Schools Are Just as Important as Universities

As host of CBS' "Tough As Nails," Phil Keoghan has the special pleasure of shining a light on some of the finest tradesmen and tradeswomen working today.  

And he feels especially privileged to do so, as he believes the show proves "education comes in different forms"—even if that statement has come with backlash.  

"People can be well educated, but not necessarily [have] gone to a university," says Phil.  

They could be, he says, going to trade school, learning something they're passionate about and getting a job out of it, too—an especially important point in these fraught economic times.  

"There are a lot of young people leaving university with debt, without direction, and without a job," Phil notes.  

And so, he says, if you find "a young girl who's really good at building things and she wants to build things, why shouldn't she be able to do that?" (Hear, hear!) 

It's comments such as these that have lead some people to accuse Phil of attempting to ignite a "class war," but he says that's simply not the case. He just wants people to see the value in both college and trade school — to see them on "equal footing." 

"We have to get away from this stigma that somehow, because somehow is a plumber or a tiler, or someone goes out in the storm and hooks up the power, that somehow that job is less than any other job — or less important," he says.  

"In some cases," he adds, "it's more important."  

And Rachael agrees: "You should be able to be proud of any job." 

Here's to saluting all forms of education—and all jobs!