Trade Jobs Aren’t Just for Men

BRINGING MORE WOMEN INTO THE SKILLED TRADES ONLY MAKES ECONOMIC SENSE.

Skilled trades industries are historically dominated by men. One organization is out to change that: Oregon Tradeswoman, Inc (OTI). Their goal? To educate women about opportunities in the trades and support their pursuit of a career in the field. And the great news? They are only one of many organizations joining the movement to bring more women into trades careers…

OPPORTUNITY FOR WOMEN

An article in the Portland Tribune highlights Anjanet Banuelos’s success with the program. When she began the Oregon Laborers Apprenticeship program, she was a single mother of 3, struggling to make ends meet. Banuelos completed the program, earning more than $50,000/year plus retirement and health-care benefits.

CLOSING BOTH GAPS

Attracting more women like Anjanet to the industry just makes economic sense. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the construction trades outlook projects a 22% job growth by 2022. This is great news for our economy! The only problem is that we’re already facing a shortage of construction workers. Bringing women into this male-dominated industry is a GREAT way to increase the size of the skilled workforce, closing the skills gap. In an era of increasing concern over the wage gap, getting more women to enter trades careers is also a promising way to achieve equity.

“In Oregon, the median annual pay for a woman with a full-time job is $38,801, while median annual pay for a man who holds a full-time, year-round job is $47,194, according to the National Partnership for Women and Families.”-The Portland Tribune

Becoming a certified plumber, welder, electrician, carpenter, mason, or skilled person requires training. Through organizations like OTI, this training is now made accessible. Women have a clear path to career success, with the potential for true job security. Not to mention, their programs do not carry the same crushing debt typical of a college education.

ROSIE THE RIVETER IS BACK

This isn’t the first time there’s been a robust effort to bring more women into the trades. Women played a major role in filling factory work during WWII, while the male population fought overseas. Over the course of the war, the female labor force grew by 6.5 million. This new labor force was supporting the industrial work that men were no longer able to provide. ‘Rosie the Riveter’ was born: a cultural icon and symbol of a hardworking American woman.

The government-backed groundswell of support for the American woman’s trades career during WWII is similar to what we see today. In fact, Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc. is only one of many organizations promoting skilled trades for women. Others include Washington Women in Trades, Chicago Women in Trades, Women in HVACR and Sisters in the Building Trades.

“Women constitute half of the workforce and bring skills that are needed to enhance our manufacturing capability. This is the face of what our future workforce will be in order to meet customer needs and grow our businesses.”-Laura Lyons

CONNECTIONS, CONNECTIONS, CONNECTIONS

So if you want to recruit more women into your workforce, start making connections with these organizations. Talk to your local trade schools, unions, and coalitions. Build a network of people with the same goal and collaborate. With their expertise and support, you can start recruiting more women into the trades today!

Want to contribute to the CraftForce blog? Submit your blog topic idea(s) at blog@craftforce.com

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What Buffalo’s Construction Worker Shortfall Tells us About the Skills Gap (and how to solve it)

ONE THING’S FOR CERTAIN: WHEN IT COMES TO PRODUCING THE NEXT GENERATION OF SKILLED WORKERS, WE’VE GOT OUR WORK CUT OUT FOR US…

BUFFALO’S CONSTRUCTION WORKER SHORTFALL

Buffalo is at the near top of a list of cities that have faced a severe shortage in skilled construction labor. In a 2015 column in the Buffalo News, writer Jonathan Epstein discussed these pains contractors and labor unions were shouldering. It became clear that the pace of development was a double-edged sword. As Epstein put it, “it’s great to have work… as long as you have workers.” From laborers, masons and painters, to electricians and plumbers… the demand was high. And the supply? Not so much.

“It’s great to have work… as long as you have workers”-Jonathan Epstein

Finding the skilled labor needed to support the influx of multiple large-scale projects (John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital, Roswell Park Cancer Institute Clinical Science Center, a new SolarCity production facility…) was no easy feat. The entire Buffalo region’s labor supply was strained. What’s worse: the shortfall of construction workers is a theme still today—across all fields.

JUST ONE CASE AMONG MANY

Buffalo wasn’t alone in their struggle to find skilled workers to support a booming construction sector. Contractors across the country faced a similar dilemma trying to reconcile a surge in construction with a shrinking workforce. Trade Group Associated Builders and Contractors confirmed that more than 80% of its members were facing a skilled worker shortage at the time of Epstein’s article.

“…it is only a matter of time before the lack of workers impacts broader economic conditions…”-Stephen Sandherr

This shortage in construction workers persists today, nationally. The latest labor report from the Associated General Contractors of America confirms that 71% of construction companies are ramping up their 2016 workforces, afraid they will be faced with a shortage of qualified workers.

This leads us to wonder, how are these construction companies faring? In Buffalo’s case, trade groups and contractors were pulling workers from nearby cities like Albany and Syracuse. This tactic isn’t viable long-term, as relocation and housing costs eat into a contractor’s margin substantially. Not to mention, the relocation of workers only shifts an overarching problem: our nation doesn’t have enough skilled tradesmen and women

CLOSING OUR NATION’S SKILL GAP FOR GOOD

So… what’s the solution? Consider that the skilled worker shortage affects all sectors of the economy and therefore all kinds of people. It would then follow that the task of producing the next generation of skilled workers is upon all of us.

The task of producing the next generation of skilled workers is upon all of us.

Realizing this, we propose the following tactics aimed at closing our nation’s skills gap. Check it out… what role can you play in solving the skilled labor shortage, long-term?

LOCAL TRADE GROUPS AND UNIONS:

Aggressively recruit new members through community outreach to assist in securing employment in their field
Expand apprenticeship programs where young tradesmen and women can learn from a journey-level craft person or trade professional
Connect with local high schools to offer scholarships and tuition assistance for students considering a technical or vocational education at a community or trade school
Join forces with prospective graduates of trade schools, vocational schools, technical schools and community colleges to recruit new members and assist them in securing employment in their field

EDUCATORS:

Revamp shop classes and other technical or vocational craft classes that introduce students to hands-on tradeswork
Encourage students, especially women, to explore and pursue a career in the trades
Educate guidance counselors in communicating the tremendous opportunity of entering an industry with a dire demand for a talent that students can supply

EMPLOYERS:

Adapt your recruiting process to aggressively seek out and hire veterans: an untapped yet unmatched talent. See our recent blog post for tips on this
Build an apprenticeship program that aligns all company executives on goals, fosters public-private partnerships, and integrates classroom instruction with on the job training. See The Manufacturing Institute’s guide for assistance
Offer tuition assistance and scholarships to students who opt for a technical or vocational program at a community or trades school
Build a Workforce Development Plan to improve the scale and quality of the skilled workforce
Hire with employment agencies like CraftForce that connect local skilled workers with opportunities through direct placement or employee leasing

What can be learned from Buffalo’s skilled labor shortage is that we must have a long-term plan for building the skilled workforce of tomorrow. This plan calls on the talents and skills of all of us involved in the skilled trades. From educators to employers. Workers to trade groups… It’s upon us to invest in our nation’s skilled talent. For this up-and-coming generation will ultimately support and sustain our economy, long-term.

Want to contribute to the CraftForce blog? Submit your blog topic idea(s) at blog@craftforce.com

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America’s Vocational Education is Important

A GAP IN AMERICA’S EDUCATION SYSTEM…

In 1983, an investigation by the National Commission on Excellence in Education found that our education system was, by and large, failing our citizens. What then Secretary of Education T.H.Bell confirmed was “the widespread public perception that something is seriously remiss in our education

system.”

What had been dangerously underestimated was the importance of vocational programs in funneling youth into skilled trades careers. Ideally, this next generation carries out the work that, primarily, our current baby boomer generation is now retiring from. Instead, they are funnelled into pursuing a traditional education. In sum: our country has no successive skilled workforce. This work includes construction and extraction occupations, welding, soldering and brazing workers, and machinists. Need a visual representation of this scary phenomena? Check out this infographic for a comprehensive breakdown.

BUILDING BACK A SKILLED WORKFORCE…

This gap in our education system has closely contributed to what the Industry Workforce Needs Coalition calls, appropriately, a “skills gap”. We have created an environment in which there is no younger generation of tradesmen and women to fill the jobs that the baby boomers are retiring from. Multiple sources have echoed these concerns, such as Fox Business, whose article reads, “Positions in skilled trades, such as welders and electricians, lead ManpowerGroup’s list of the hardest jobs to fill in 2012.” This is a big problem… We can only anticipate the demand for skilled trades work increase as the economy recovers from our last recession. So… what can we do about the lack of skilled workers?

ENDING THE STIGMA AROUND BLUE COLLAR WORK…

Let’s first challenge the misperception that all quality jobs in this country require a traditional four-year-degree. Let’s change our approach to vocational education and realize that skilled trades work is as respectable, fulfilling, and meaningful a career path as traditional options. Let’s break this national stigma that says blue collar work is somehow ‘less honorable’ than working 9-5 in an office.

GET TO WORK.

The jobs in trades industries are abundant, and there are a multitude of organizations that can help you prepare for and connect with the opportunities! Companies like NCCER, OSHA, AWS, and, Unions offer education programs that teach the important skills needed for entering the industry. If you don’t have a program close to you, check out a community college or trade school in your area. Don’t forget to stop by the financial aid office to ask about available scholarships!

The resources are out there to help young up-and-coming skilled tradesmen and women fill the shoes of a retiring generation of workers. If you’re a recent high-school graduate seeking a fulfilling career path, we suggest exploring the skilled trades. It’s up to you to pick a path, educate yourself, and secure a promising future.

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