The Skilled Worker Crisis - Why Blue Collar Workers are Hard to Find and What Can Be Done About it

Did you know there's a crisis in this country that's been brewing for over a decade? It's the shortage of skilled tradespeople, including plumbers, electricians, carpenters, and more. And in the next 10 years, it's going to boil over and put the entire country at risk.

In this video, we'll explore what this crisis is, how we got here, and how we can get ourselves out. We'll discuss the stigma against tradespeople and how it's affecting young people's decisions to enter the skilled trades. We'll also look at the boom-bust cycle of the construction industry and how it affects the availability of workers.

Working in the trades is hard, physically demanding work. But it's also noble and financially rewarding. In fact, some plumbers make as much or even more than some doctors and lawyers. So why aren't more young people entering the trades?

Join us as we dive deep into this important issue and discuss potential solutions. We'll talk about how we can change the way we view tradespeople and encourage young people to consider careers in the skilled trades. We'll also examine how we can create incentives for workers to stay in the trades during lean times.

Don't miss this eye-opening discussion about the crisis you haven't heard about: the skilled trades shortage.

Leave me a comment and let me know your thoughts.

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[ADHD]

Wages are terrible, companies refusing to hire mature candidates, back breaking work for low humiliating wages, no thanks

[voidalchemy_stratorusofficial]

I tried to get into HVAC, electrician, and even painting/drywall. Almost every time I applied for an entry-level job in any of those trades, I was rejected because I didn't already have experience. And most of these trades boast that you don't need to go to college to get into them, but when you apply for an entry position they always ask "How many years of experience do you have?" It's the most frustrating and backwards load of BS I've ever dealt with. An entry-level job that requires years of experience?? Doesn't make sense to me!
If you refuse to hire and train new people with no experience and only want people with experience, it shouldn't be a mystery why there's a labor shortage. 

And add to that, the fact that if you get a job in tech or IT (which is much easier on your body) you can make double or triple what a tradesman makes.

[soloscriptura]

Because companies pay like shit and treat people like shit under the guise of “this happened to me as an apprentice. Therefore, I do it to you.”

[fozzir]

When I was in high school in the 80s we had a choice between wood shop, welding, or auto shop. I took wood shop and built things like cabinets, tables, and storage boxes. Things my mom still has in her house today. Now, they don't have the courses anymore in school.

[bernl]

The reason we have a crisis is because It just doesn’t pay anymore

[michaeldadon]

Worked doing HVAC and other construction gigs from 12-15 hourly rate. Now I make way more between stock trading and working in the casino as a table games supervisor without the wear and tear on the body. And less stress. Until the trades jobs start paying more higher wages for entry level positions, this problem will never go away. 🤷‍♂️

[MrEvlerni]

Immigration isn't the answer. Income and how companies treat the skilled labor is. I worked in skilled labor positions my entire life. I am now disabled permanently due to the way I was treated and what I had to go through just make a livable wage. Over 30 years I have seen everyone cry out to increase minimum wages while my wages never really increased. Add to that the poor way that many, many companies out there treat skilled labor, and you create a situation where people just do not want to do it any more. I have even had one contractor that I worked for (for a VERY brief period) that expected me to work 12 to 16 hours a day, 6 days a week, then at the end of the week attempted to pay me $20 thinking that would be fine. He got a rude awakening in the end. Then there are companies out there who are run by people who feel that if you are awake, you should be at work. All for a less than optimum income. If I can make more money flipping burgers at McDonalds, why should I put myself through the hell of managing a construction job that clearly takes a lot more skill and hard work? This is the true reason why people are leaving the skilled labor professions.

[williammorris]

When I was young and gung-ho for an apprenticeship in the trades, no apprenticeship was available. It forced me to join the military. I had a great military career. After retirement and upon finishing my degree I found a career in public safety. I never looked back. The trades were forever in my rear view mirror. The trades didn’t want me decades ago. I now have no need for the trades.

[Holion]

ya because money is crap, im a milwright apprentice, the starting wage is so low i can't afford rent, car insurance is through the roof, gas is price through the roof. i need a car to get to the customer's plant to work. Tools are expensive AF. I'm lucky i live with my parents. alot of kids aren't so lucky. And companies only hire people related to existing trades people for apprentices, if you aren't related to anybody you start out as a labourer, old guys refuse to teach you anything because they are terrified you will eat their lunch. Only reason i got to be a apprentice because i spent years working as a labourer at different companies begging for knowledge while earning peanuts. Even when i become a journeyman i won't be able to afford to buy a home. When you are in the trades, you experience layoff once every few years. you work hard for 9 months and spent the next lil while looking for work while eating up savings, and find yourself not have saved any money at the end of the year.

[Maruader]

A huge contributing factor I see with people avoiding the trades is the rotten culture that exists, not just in the management, but more glaringly poor is the general workforce. So many are unpleasant, arrogant, toxic people. It should be no surprise that so many people that value their mental health avoid these fields.

Of course, if one possesses the right temperament and thick-skin, they can potentially cultivate change, but that has to start at the management level, who they choose to hire, and the environment they seek to engender. The trades are long overdue for this type of renaissance and cultural shift of thought.

[DemonOfCybertron]

Labor intensive jobs need to provide health care, specially if they want you to work a 120%. It is mind boggling how people that have inside/office jobs have better health benefits. No wonder nobody wants to work these type of jobs.

[johnsmith-jkol]

Definitely true about the stigma. My school was cutting those programs as fast as they could in the 90's. By then only woodshop was left because the teacher had tenure and couldn't be fired. Guidance counselor never talked about trade schools. I didn't even find out about them until I was in the military and someone in my unit told me. Guidance counselor and teachers also acted as if my life would be a complete failure when I said I was not going to go to college.

[CelestialKnight-vmth]

plumbers use to tell they made 22-25 hour I tried to go into plumbing, and they started me at 15 I was like what not even 17? That's when I realize there was something fishy.

[Black_Wolf_XY]

There is no lack of people, only a lack of pay. Entry level pay is way too low and so is the pay ceiling. No money to start, no money with years of experience, no ladder up and out. There is only impedance, and incompetence from the higer ups.

[Dana-wsy]

I have to respectfully disagree with you on the immigration part. The issue with this is that they come here and work for low wages and companies will only hire foreigners because of that. They know Americans refuse to be taken advantage of. So that further squeezes us out of jobs. Until companies pay everyone fairly and foreigners realize they're not paid fairly and demand more money this won't solve anything. Another issue is when someone from another country ends up in a position where they're doing the hiring, they only hire people from their own country. It's illegal to discriminate but nothing is ever done about it.

[brendanblue]

I did electrical assistant for a couple years, hoping to become an apprentice. Nepotism killed that dream, I made more money working in retail without jeopardizing my body, the stigma against trades is well earned. If you’re lucky you’ll make good money, but the entry-level you make no more money than the guy flipping burgers, and he’s not gonna go home with a broken back. Also, most tradesmen I worked with took pleasure in stepping on the new guys.

[Technie]

Speaking for the people with common sense. . if you had the option to physically work less, get paid more, be in a AC cooled environment, get treated better, have medical coverage vs have to be all sweaty and dirty, paid less, work more hours, treated like shit, no medical coverage, . . would you do it?

Your answer is going to be yes.

Until that changes its not the workers problem its all the blue collars companies problem and America can suffer for its bad decisions for all I care. The average man, let alone the wealthy man cant make changes to this sinking ship.

Politicians don't even do shit and that's their whole ass job. How are you going to tell me that only the republican/democratic party is the right way to go? There's like 10 other parties available

[OldDunollieman]

Immigration drives wages down in the construction industry always has, some major Texas based companies actively avoid hiring USA workers in favor of immigrant labor. Simple reason is they can pay them less, that's why I avoided Texas like the plague during my time as a rigger/ ironworker. Right to work states are simply anti-union and want to keep wages low.

[thejubieexperience]

Every time I've done construction, the bosses treated me like crap and yelling was frequent. It just wasn't worth the stress. If they'd act a little more professionally, I'd be doing it now

[poptartnd]

I'm a welder and this is spot on. It's difficult to find a position that's below 50 hours weekly because there are so few welders to fill the demand. And why would you want to be a welder? the starting pay and benefits is barely better than retail, for worse working conditions. I was fired from my last job for refusing to work 55 hours/wk and 6 months later they still haven't filled my position. the two big solutions you presented, better health care and more immigration, would definitely be a big help, but honestly if we had better pay, we might have americans actually considering it a viable career.