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July 2023 Explore The Trades at SkillsUSA 2023 Explore The Trades attended the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference in Atlanta, GA from June 19-22, 2023. This conference brought together over 15,000 students, educators, industry vendors and trades professionals from all over the country....

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There is a modern misconception that the “ideal” career path is one that involves an expensive education, a strenuous corporate climb, and thousands of hours in an office with a boardroom as the ultimate destination. In reality, careers like this can entail tens of thousands of dollars in debt, lack...

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The shortage of skilled tradespeople has gotten so bad all over that many companies are offering recruitment bonuses to employees for referrals and to experienced trade workers to come to work for them. Many surveys show that upwards of 75% of construction and construction service companies are looking...

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Yes, you are supposed to love what you do for a living. You’re going to spend about eight hours a day doing it, so it makes sense to be sure you’ve made a wise choice. Is every minute of a good job going to be enjoyable? That’s an unrealistic expectation. Most of the time, though, […]

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Many people who enter the trades go in through the back door. By that I mean they had no intention of looking for a job in the trades, but a job found them. How does that happen? Well, there is a severe shortage of skilled trade workers and that causes many employers to develop their […]

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A recurring theme of this blog has been the dire shortage of skilled trade workers. The news media is filled with reports of this shortage and how it has been holding back construction projects and service companies from doing even more work, like this one. Here’s more. http://www.constructionweekonline.com/article-49977-spotlight-on-mideast-gen-z-as-global-youth-reject-construction-careers/...

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Open your doors to interested people Virtually every trade contractor I know tells me that finding qualified help is one of their biggest problems, especially technicians who are either experienced or trainable. They put help-wanted ads in all the right places, attend career day events, offer recruitment...

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February 26, 2016 By Renée Cardarelle The HVAC industry is facing a severe workforce shortage. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics the HVAC industry will face a 21% increase in jobs by 2022, coupled with the fact that there are not enough HVAC technicians to fill job needs today, this is a serious...

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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 one to belittle the...

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