Keep Your Eyes Peeled For Recruitment Bonuses
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 to hire more skilled trade workers. This […]
Can Robots Do Trade Work?
When I was a kid growing up in the 1950s, the far-off world of today was filled with wonders to come. Homes would be heated by nuclear-powered boilers and, thanks again to nuclear energy, electricity would be too cheap to meter. People would be getting around in flying cars. Robots would do away with household […]
At Your Service
This Covid pickle we’re in has cost many jobs and disrupted many businesses. Think of all the restaurants that have gone under or are barely getting by, and all their bartenders, servers and other food service workers who have been laid off or working diminished hours. How have the skilled trades fared through it all? […]
College Enrollment Is Down
Written by Jim Olsztynski Recent data from the National Student Clearing House indicates that undergraduate college enrollment is down 4.4%, although that’s probably understated. Many colleges aren’t releasing their numbers publicly and an official at the Department of Education said it would be at least two years before data becomes available. More timely indication of declining […]
Give Your Parents A Christmas Gift That Lasts
Your Mom and/or Dad are special people. They have sacrificed many personal interests and spent a lot of hard-earned money to raise you, and in many cases are still supporting you with a place to live and food to eat. Some of you with money to spend are looking to reciprocate a little of their […]
A Dire Forecast of Trade Worker Shortage
Think our lives have been disrupted by Covid? We’re living in Paradise compared with life without enough skilled trade workers to build and maintain the mechanical systems our modern world depends on. Do you really want to go back to a time when wood stoves were the only way to keep warm in winter and […]
Start Reading Trade Publications
Virtually every skilled trade is targeted with at least one and usually more than one publication aimed at that particular audience. The best part is that most, though not all, of these magazines, newspapers and newsletters are FREE! They have what’s known as qualified circulation, supported entirely by advertisers with an interest in reaching a […]
10 Reasons To Consider A Trade Career
A huge demand exists for people in the trades, especially the skilled trades like HVAC, electrical, plumbing, etc. Almost every trade employer cites a shortage of workers as one of the main problems facing the business. Pay scales are high and going up. The Bureau of Labor Statistics(BLS)show average wages of between $50,000-$60,000 for all […]
Do You Have What It Takes?
Not everyone has the talent and personal characteristics to become a skilled trade worker. Too many high school counselors think the trades are for people whose academics are not good enough for college. It reveals more about their ignorance than the intelligence of the students they point toward the trades. If you’re thinking about a trade […]
The Joy Of Parenthood & Beyond
I write this as the proud father of two grown daughters and absolutely giddy grandfather of four impossibly charming granddaughters, ranging in age from 6 to 15. (Any mistakes I make can be attributed to inhaling too many estrogen molecules. It was worse when our household also included two female cats, now deceased.) Like me, most people who […]