By Andy Barton
Have you ever needed a plumber, an electrician, or any other experienced professional from the multitude of trades we depend upon for the upkeep of our homes, businesses, infrastructure, and countless other necessities? Ever have a difficult time finding someone you feel comfortable with to assist you with an important repair either because the number of available professionals in that trade is limited or are they too busy to provide timely help? Most have experienced one of these scenarios or know someone who has. Unfortunately, this has started to become more common.
Why? There are several competing statistics on the widening skills gap in the trades. None are good, but two are quoted most often. Both should concern all of us, regardless of economic status or any other measurable demographic. The first is that 50% of skilled tradesmen are over the age of 50. The second is that for every two people who join the skilled trades, five retire. Put both together, and we are headed toward a stark new reality regarding the ongoing construction and maintenance of our entire private and public infrastructure. That is unless we start to create a real outlook shift on the importance of the trades and those who practice them.
I was encouraged to pursue a college education as the means to live a better life. I remember statistics our guidance counselors gave us regarding the average income of college graduates vs. high school graduates. This message was commonplace for my generation and those that have followed. It has unfortunately sent the inadvertent message to generations of young people that earning a college degree was step one to being happy, successful, and financially stable. In turn, this meant other vocations, including the skilled trades, not requiring a college degree became to be viewed as somehow less than.
What we were not told was that college is not for everyone. And a degree is certainly not a measure of an individual’s intelligence, nor is it a direct correlation to success and happiness. This is not meant to denigrate the need for college or the value of the degrees graduates earn in pursuit of their chosen profession. Quite the opposite. There are certainly a great number of important and necessary professions that require a degree.
Instead, the message is we need to work diligently and urgently to close the skills gap in our country before we reach a crossroads from which we will have an incredibly difficult time working back from. We need to uplift the trades and those who choose to follow that path. That starts with redefining step one on the path to success. Let them know there are multiple paths and the definition of success is different for everyone.
Thankfully, more are recognizing this and are starting to give more attention to closing the gap. Some are large corporations, such as The Home Depot and its Path to Pro program. There are larger national organizations that operate on a more local level such as SkillsUSA or Build Talent Foundation. Mike Rowe from the Dirty Jobs television show runs the mikeroweWORKS Foundation and gives away Work Ethic Scholarships to young people interested in the trades. Then there are the growing number of very localized programs across the country designed to help young men and women learn a skilled trade. All are trying to do their part in uplifting a critical sector of our economy.
There does seem to be a momentum shift occurring. However, it is still early and not nearly publicized enough. We must start as individuals, then as a larger society, really start to recognize the potential implications of not narrowing the skills gap. It begins with deciding to value those skilled tradesmen and women just as we value our teachers, doctors, engineers, etc. Without skilled tradespeople, we cannot have safe and functioning school facilities for the teachers and their students. There is no reliable running water at your doctor’s office for proper hygiene or electricity to power life-saving equipment. And there is no one to construct the submarines, bridges, and structures the engineers designed.
I am admittedly a big fan of Mike Rowe and his message regarding the importance of the skilled trades and work ethic. His organization and others like it are making an impact, but they need our help too in lifting up our skilled tradespeople and everything they do to keep the wheels of civilization turning and in the right direction.
Andy Barton is the Vice President of Residential Sales at CertaPro Painters of East Tennessee. He worked in the hospitality industry for 23 years before joining CertaPro in 2018. Andy enjoys leading people, managing projects, customer service, and spending time with his wife and son.