Former West Virginia Gov. Bob Wise is pointing out something that recently has landed some candidates for public office in hot water: “Those low-skill jobs that paid a livable wage are gone and they’re gone across most of the country.”

Wise makes the observation in a new book, “Raising the Grade: How High School Reform Can Save Our Youth and Our Nation.” He writes from the perspective of a native West Virginian and from the platform of being president of the Alliance for Excellent Education.

The non-profit organization Wise heads, based in Washington, D.C., is focused on improving American high schools and ensuring that more young people graduate from them.

Unfortunately, Wise — like some governors before him and, undoubtedly, some still to come — was the Mountain State’s chief executive during a time when technology and competition from abroad were tearing many industries apart. In the wake of their destruction were left tens of thousands of hard working men and women who no longer had jobs — and lacked the skills to get new ones. Wise points that out in his book.

Focusing on a single time period of the total school experience can be controversial — and Wise is quick to note that his goal of improving high schools should not divert resources from other levels of education, including college.