Signs Of The Times

Almost a year and a half into the Covid pandemic, trends are starting to shape up that reveal vast and probably lasting changes to our society and culture. One of the most pronounced of these trends is that many citizens have spent much more time inside their homes than normal. This was due to enforced […]
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? […]
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 […]
Construction Plagued by Labor Shortages
February 2017 Service firms also cry for trade workers Most of our economy has largely recovered from the devastation of the “Great Recession” that started in 2008. One notable exception is construction. Home building is still at recession levels, and one reason is a lack of workers. This report from Fortune magazine notes that an […]
Supply Versus Demand
June 6, 2016 The trades offer opportunity galore! This article is going to be short and sweet. I’ve written before in this space about the shortage of skilled trade workers in our country. When supply is low, job opportunities and pay scales go up. No matter where you live in this country or which skilled […]
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 job a human can. He cites the rate of progress […]