Yes, the shortages do impact our industry. Certainly they do. We all hire from the same pool. But some of the remarks I have seen here are not related to the booming economy. Today's younger workforce shortages really is related to some degree to the worker's expectations. This is going to sound like a rant, and I apologize for that, but there is truth in the belief that younger workers have vastly different expectations and we as owners and managers are going to have to deal with it.
I will give you a quick example that should scare the hell out of you. Here in NC, we have roughly 2500 licensed electricians total, regardless of classification. Of that 2500, less than 50 are under the age of 40 and the average age is 57. That is a staggering number. Somewhere, we have failed our youth. We have created a society that does not see the value of skilled manual labor. From electricians to carpenters to farmers to barbers, we look down on skilled labor and that is just wrong-headed. The various Licensing boards here see the shortages and the problems we are all going to have because of them, but they are plain dumbfounded about what to do.
I have an electrical contractor friend that I partner with on larger jobs. They typically provide skilled electrical rough-in for very large projects. They have for years. They are no longer able to meet all of our demands in large part because today's skilled labor force is well compensated and they don't have the same view of overtime that the workforce once did (which is probably two different things). Yesterday's workers needed overtime. They had bills and college to plan for. Today's workers want to spend more time with their families and expect college to be free. You can't give them overtime. Some of that is due in part to the booming economy, but certainly not all of it.
I could go on for hours about this issue. I have spent the better part of a year talking directly to today's youth about a great many things and ladies and gentlemen, I am here to tell you their expectations for their futures do not match ours and they cannot be convinced otherwise. For better and worse, it will be a different world very soon.
Would creating classes solve the problem? I don't think so. Creating classes for people who won't attend is a waste of precious resources.
Very quickly, today's new workforce wants to be compensated well, have a seat at the table and have their voices heard. They understand they have to be a little patient, but that patience has a limit. At the same time, they expect their employers to help foot the cost of education and their allegiances are thin. Statistics clearly indicate today's youth are beginning to opt out of traditional post-graduate careers due in large part to the cost of education, but at the same time, most don't see the value.
Market forces will eventually help to fix some of the labor shortages and Companies will be left to fix the rest, but in the meantime, we are going to be left with a lot of very unhappy, transient workers.
NOTICE: This comment was moved from an existing discussion: Are 'Construction Worker Shortages' Impacting Integrators Too?
