So, You Can't Find Skilled Trades Talent? Let's Change the Conversation. And, Some Advice for Employers to Boot...

I continue to be lucky to work with recruiters all over the country recruiting for all types of talent. And, these days, strike that, today and for the indefinite future, competition between companies for all sorts of talent is intense. It's a battlefield out there. And, for companies who need skilled tradespeople, it is especially daunting. Why? Well, I could write a book, but, will try to shorten up a long answer to a short question.

It's our fault. No, not recruiters' faults. It's the collective "our" fault. We have done a tremendous job over the past decades to encourage people to seek higher learning. Go to college, we tell them. Get a degree, we tell them. It's the only way to secure a solid financial future, we tell them. We don't need vocational schools anymore, we tell them. No need for funding trades education, we tell them. And, on and on.

Fortunately, we can start undoing the stigma with trades education and training post high school...today. We can change the conversation.

So, when you are talking with educators, government/civic leaders, fellow parents, and the children in your lives, talk about ALL the educational opportunities which should be afforded to people starting to think about life after high school. Look for ways in which your communities may support trades training, internships, journeyman programs, etc. Listen to young people about what interests them and stop the forced march mentality of "college is everything."

It will take a while for the tides to turn, but, every journey must start somewhere.

And, a word of professional advice to companies who need skilled employees....hold up a mirror to your organizations and take a hard look at how prospective, trained, experienced candidates see you. Are you working on becoming an employer of choice in your area? Are your hiring practices dated and make entrance to your organization difficult? What are you doing to retain your employees? Additional training and certifications? Providing career paths? Understanding what is important on an individualized basis? Investing in your employees?

If you are an employer who needs skilled, trained, experienced talent like maintenance technicians, electricians, HVAC, plumbers, CNC operators and programmers, tool & die, and so forth, and you cannot find the people you need, align yourself with a recruiting organization and develop a strong partnership. It will save you time, trouble, frustration and money.

But, that's not the end of the advice. Once we help you find the talent, and, hire the talent....you must figure out how to KEEP the talent. We can help you with that as well by providing real time supply and demand information for your area, compensation information on what the market is bearing, etc. Be competitive! But, work on the future. Change the conversation.

Kitty Warren is celebrating her 30th year in recruiting and is a staffing industry executive specializing in creating solutions for organizations with all sorts of hiring needs. If you’d like more information about how she may support your organization with winning the war for talent, please contact her via email at [email protected]. She has up to date market data on all types of jobs, the supply of candidates, the demands of employers and market compensation rates to help you make critical management decisions.