Building a Thriving Construction Generation

Contrary to what we’ve been told for the past four decades, it is not a fact that everyone needs to attend college to be successful. Surprisingly, only 30% of students who start college will finish and get a degree; the highest reported statistic is only 41%. Unfortunately, college also typically leaves students in debt until the age of 40.

On the other hand, we have the construction industry, with careers that impact society in positive and practical ways. A thriving construction industry is necessary for a successful society.

While construction workers are humble, their industry is the largest in the world. About 10% of the world’s income is spent on construction. It is also the oldest, longest lasting industry in the world. Construction and trades workers are confident people because they know things will get taken care of and how that happens. Many become successful because they didn’t quit even though they may have wanted to.

When you build something, you can stand back and look upon the product of your efforts. You can have the satisfaction of knowing how it came together and how much work went into it. An accomplishment like that builds confidence – if you can do that, you can do other things just as well.

There has been a stigma on the industry. Somewhere along the line it became trendy in society to believe that we can work at something that’s not too hard and then retire on the beach. Although an entire culture has arisen looking for jobs to achieve that, the reality is that’s not good for our brains. Younger generations are being raised to believe they shouldn’t want to work hard. Instead, they should look for easy work and one day retire on the beach.

But work is good for your brain and body. People who use their hands, who get out and build things, generally report they have a better quality of life. It’s better for your brain because, when you understand the mechanics of how things are built and how they work, you can be more successful in all aspects of your life.

Young kids especially need to create skills. They need tactile habits to create long-term memories. Classroom education is really only successful long-term when it’s combined with hands-on learning. Putting a screen in front of someone only teaches them if they can associate it to and combine it with tactile memories.

It behooves parents to encourage their kids in safe experiences. They should go outside, play and build things. Kids naturally gravitate toward tactile experiences and figuring out how things work. Of course, there may be a double challenge involved when younger parents may not have had shop class or home-ec and are unsure themselves how things work.

But the fact that we have a thriving construction industry, with careers that impact society in positive and practical ways, is a plus. As our younger generations are educated in the trades, they can join a thriving construction industry and help contribute to a successful society.

Clay Abernathy joined me on episode 161 of Bridging the Gap podcast to discuss a new way to enter the construction trades.?Listen today.