Our Simple Solution To America’s Skills Gap Problem

We’re halfway through what’s shaping up to be the best year for our business ever. We’re ahead of goal on franchise sales, we’re on track to hit revenue targets, and we’re completing a record number of jobs each day. There’s just one problem: our franchise partners can’t find enough workers to keep up with demand.

The skills gap is a much-debated topic, with economists, politicians and execs alike arguing over its existence. I’m no expert, but to say that the skills gap isn’t real is to miss the bigger picture: It exists, just not in the way that it’s being portrayed.

Employers aren’t lying when they say there’s a shortage of skilled workers — but the definition of “skills” is relative. Technology is changing how we work and jobs are constantly iterating. There are skilled people out there, they just don’t have the specific skills that companies need. Unless these workers are given the opportunity to get hands-on experience, it’ll be impossible for them to keep up.

Here’s what we know: 40% of U.S. employers say they can’t find skilled employees. Service industries like ours have felt the pinch, too. Across our four brands, capacity is consistently one of the biggest issues our franchise partners face.

The skills gap, in many ways, is about a lack of opportunity. Think about a young person entering the workforce for the first time, or someone who’s been laid off mid-career and is forced to start over in an evolving business landscape. Considering that most skills are learned on the job, how are they supposed to gain the experience necessary to land in-demand positions?

Employers seem to forget that skills can be learned — values, passion, and personality can’t. At our company, we’d much rather hire for culture fit and train for skill. We look for people who share our values (passion, integrity, professionalism and empathy), and who exhibit the 4 Hs (happy, hungry, hardworking and hands-on). As long as they have these things, we know we can teach them everything else. This is as true at our franchises as it is at head office.

You might be thinking: wait, you hire unskilled workers and expect them to value professionalism? Heck yes we do! Just because someone doesn’t have the hard skills to be a professional painter or mover doesn’t mean they can’t become one — and from there, go on to own a franchise themselves.

We’ve found a way to close the skills gap and resolve our capacity issue: we give unskilled people an opportunity to learn and develop within a supportive team. Our training programs are designed to turn anyone into an expert in any of our services. And we’re not just talking about frontline team members; this applies to aspiring entrepreneurs, too.

Many of our franchise partners had no prior knowledge of the industry and zero experience running a business. It doesn’t matter because a franchise model provides a safe space for first-time entrepreneurs to hone new skills to better their futures. We give our franchise partners the tools to run successful businesses and to train their teams for maximum efficiency. This decreases their ramp-up time and ensures their likelihood for success.

To close the skills gap, employers need to find ways to give people without degrees or experience access to careers with promising futures. The way we see it, the skills gap doesn’t have to be a problem. We can turn it into an opportunity to create tomorrow’s workforce.