Are You Job-Ready? – Part 2
November 15, 2016 Great work requires focus and concentration Are you really ready to hold down a responsible job? You need more than technical ability. The ultimate sign of readiness is productivity coupled with excellence. Can you produce value commensurate with the pay you receive?
Are You Job-Ready? – Part 1
Time is of the essence. Your success in a trade career depends on several elements. One is mechanical aptitude, coupled with relevant technical education and/or experience. You must be trained or trainable, and able to do the work. In the next several articles I will
Why Women Should Consider The Trades
May 24, 2016 Brute force is not required! Misconceptions abound about the trades and the people who work in them. Many of these misconceptions date back to a bygone era when there might have been more truth to them. One of these misconceptions is that
Automation Doesn’t Threaten The Trades
April 26, 2016 Robot plumbers are a long, long way off Can trade workers be replaced by machines? That would seem to be the implication by a computer scientist at Rice University, who predicts that by 2045 machines will be capable of doing almost any
How To Find Great Trade Workers: Part 3 of 3
January 5, 2016 Part 3 of tips for employers This article continues a review of best practices for recruiting, hiring and retaining top-notch trade workers. Don’t over-value experience. As a grizzled veteran with more than four decades of experience in my chosen field, I’m not
How To Find Great Trade Workers: Part 2 of 3
December 22, 2015 Part 2 of tips for employers This article continues a review of best practices for recruiting, hiring and retaining top-notch trade workers. Look outside your local area. The smaller your market area the more likely it is that you’ll have to find
How To Find Great Trade Workers: Part 1 of 3
December 10, 2015 Part 1 of tips for employers So far this blog has been devoted to advice for aspiring trade workers. I’m going to switch gears for a while and speak to their employers, many of whom also follow this blog. I know most
How Do You Enter a Trade?
November 10, 2015 Apprenticeship has changed from the old days. Following in your father’s footsteps has a long tradition in the skilled trades. Many if not most of today’s trade workers entered the field because that’s what their father or some other family member did
Women Have Great Trade Prospects
Attitudes have turned around. Most estimates peg females as only about 2% to 2.5% of all skilled trade workers and the percentage is not going up significantly. That’s too bad, because most skilled trade employers would be happy to hire females if only more would