Skillit

A post from our Founder and CEO, Fraser Patterson There’s actually a lot fewer women in the trades than we thought, but their potential is greater than anyone has imagined. During my decade-long career as a carpenter, I didn’t work alongside a single tradeswoman—not one. It wasn’t until 20 years later as a GC in New York, that I was finally able to hire two female carpenters into our team. Everyone agrees we need more tradeswomen, lots more, but nobody seems to agree on how many there actually are. When U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo launched the Million Women in Construction initiative, aiming to double the number of women in the trades over the next decade from 5 to 10%, it felt like we might have a shot at building the skilled workforce we need to rebuild American infrastructure. But it turns out there’s a problem—the numbers underpinning our assumptions are wrong. There aren’t even close to 5% of women in the skilled trades today. Skillit’s dataset is arguably the most accurate picture of America’s skilled trade workforce because the data is sourced directly from our craft member’s profiles, not via employers or government agency surveys. Here’s what our data reveals: ?? Women make up just 3.4% of skilled trades. From heavy equipment operators (2.5%) to carpenters (2.7%) and pipefitters (4.3% – the most female represented trade of all), we are far from having 5% of women in the trades. ?? The only occupation that breaches 5% is general laborers (6.1%), however they’re not classified as a skilled trade (e.g. having specialized training, certification, formal apprenticeship etc.). Women are highly overrepresented in this entry level role with 1.8X more female general laborers as female skilled trades (6.1% : 3.4%) compared to 0.94X for men. But here’s where things get interesting—and why there’s reason to feel bullish about the future of women in the skilled trades—our dataset also shows that: ?? Despite having 4.5 years less experience than their male counterparts, women score 27% higher on skilled trade assessments (averaging a score of 72% vs. 57%). ?? And unlike the broader gender wage gap of 16.3% reported by the BLS, the skilled trade gender wage gap is three times smaller at just 5.3%. So the kicker is, the hurdle is bigger than we realize—but the potential for women in the skilled trades is even greater than we imagined. Women have the aptitude in spades to excel in these roles, potentially ramping up faster than their male counterparts. And once they break into the skilled roles, they’re stepping into a more equitable future than they would find in most other industries. Kudos to Gina Raimondo, Baker Construction, Gilbane Building Company, McKissack, Mortenson, Shawmut Design and Construction, Suffolk Construction, Skanska, Turner Construction Company, NAWIC WA and NCCER for pushing the #MillionWomenInConstruction initiative forward ?? ??♀?

At Skillit, our best customers typically come to us with one of three goals: ?? Help grow their self-perform division ?? Help them expand into new regions ?? Help them stop turning away work For Brasfield & Gorrie, LLC, they needed to hire 100 full-time skilled pipefitters, carpenters, laborers and welders?within one month?as they prepared to break ground on a big project?near?in?Atlanta. A herculean task that fell on the shoulders of field recruiter Michael Ortigoza and his team. Like many craft recruiters, Michael had used staffing agencies and job boards before, but he had serious doubts about how effective they’d be when it came to managing a funnel of thousands of craft professionals during a labor crisis. So they leaned on Skillit. Michael and his team were really effective at levering Skillit, so much so that after just 128 messages to workers resulted in 65 responses (a 51% connection rate) and 10 hires (a 7.8% top-to-bottom hiring rate) in a matter of days, Michael and his team were asked by leadership to slow their roll to help keep hiring goals in line with the project timeline. Jeffery Evans (https://lnkd.in/eFg6uSFy), a heavy equipment operator from Statham, GA, was one of those hired in the first wave and said “when Brasfield & Gorrie offered me a position, Skillit actually called me to share the good news. I'm thrilled to be at a great employer like Brasfield & Gorrie and really happy with how Skillit handled everything. The entire experience was excellent.” ?? Senior field manager Corey Collier summed the whole experience up perfectly – “The project required a substantial number of hires from day one. With support from Michael and his team, the project team has set a high standard for large-scale job startups" adding, “Skillit has proven to be an exceptionally effective resource throughout this process.” Read Michael’s full story → https://lnkd.in/egEV_6Mg

Our founder Fraser Patterson sits down with Rafi Syed of Bow Capital?to answer some rapid-fire questions. Questions like: ?? What problem is Skillit solving? ?? Why did you start this company? ?? What insight did you have? ??♂? Do your hands always wave so much when talking? (Hey! He’s just passionate about our mission ??)

See exactly how much to pay your craft workers in Atlanta, what kind of benefits you should really offer and other insights below?? Get more real-time craft labor insights for all topics, regions and trades here → https://lnkd.in/eaMK8AzC Topics we nail: ? Base pay, desired pay, benefits ? Skills, trade experience ? Certifications, OSHA ? Employers, work authorization ? Union membership ? Gender, language, communications ? Commute distance, migration patterns

Stay on a roll - with customizable hiring goals! ?? ?? Now craft recruiters can input their hiring goals (eg 10 hires by September 30th) and have Skillit build them a personalized dashboard. This new feature delivers real-time insights into a recruiter's hiring funnel, showing exactly how many craft workers to engage with on a weekly basis to hit their company's hiring goals.

???? This Labor Day, we're celebrating craft workers across the United States whose dedication, problem-solving skills, and commitment to excellence are what power the growth and development of our country. ????? Here's to a well-deserved break and a future full of exciting opportunities.

Ever wondered which contractors are the biggest employers of craft labor in say, Charlotte, NC? Mystery solved! Our most recent craft labor report reveals Blythe Construction, Inc. is the most prominent employer with carpenters, laborers, concrete, workers, heavy equipment operators, welders and pipelayers all citing it as a past or current employer. Fluor Corporation, Lithko Contracting, A & B Construction and Hoopaugh Grading Company, LLC round out the top five. Get more nuggets of craft labor wisdom here: https://lnkd.in/e2FhSquS #CraftLabor #ConstructionIndustry #CharlotteNC #TopEmployers #LaborMarketInsights #ConstructionJobs #SkilledTrades #Contractors #LaborReport #IndustryLeaders

Skillit is now available in map view ?? Craft recruiters can source from our fast-growing database of skilled workers using both classic table view and now map view showing where workers are located within a 1-mile radius.

?? Insights from our latest craft labor report: Austin is catching the eye of craft workers. Our latest data reveals Austin's significant appeal to craft workers, driven by its robust economic opportunities, affordable cost of living, and high quality of life. ?? Craft workers from Texas, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and Louisiana show the highest interest in moving to Austin. ??? The highest interest is seen among Heavy Equipment Operators, plumbers, and pipelayers. ?? Conversely, welders, laborers, and carpenters exhibit relatively lower relocation interest. Insights like these are crucial for self-perform contractors as they navigate the skilled labor shortage, find innovative ways to attract top talent, handle more work themselves, and confidently expand into new regions. Download our full report to uncover the forces shaping Austin’s construction industry: https://lnkd.in/eYXmXu9U #Austin #CraftWorkers #EconomicOpportunities #RelocationTrends #WorkforceInsights

Why wait once a year for an updated BLS report, or 10 years for census data to be released? ?? Using anonymized data from over 20,000 Skillit worker profiles, Skillit’s regional reports quantify critical characteristics of craft workers including their real-time pay preferences, employment history, skills, and experience levels. You can find all of this info and more in Skillit's new craft labor report highlighting Austin, TX: https://lnkd.in/eYXmXu9U #skilledtrades #construction #laborreport