Apprenticeship Helps Close the Hiring Gap

The inability to find good people to work in the construction trades has been a common complaint of business owners and hiring personnel for at least the last decade. The common refrains as to why this is the case typically center on the candidates themselves. I often hear, for example, that young people just don’t want to work hard any more. While this is probably true in some cases, focusing only on the candidates’ shortcomings leaves out half the analysis. This is to suggest that perhaps some time should be spent analyzing what the employer is doing that impacts the process.

The data supports that young people are in fact looking for some different things than when we all started working. That change is not as significant as what most people think though. While people want to make a good living, a huge salary is not in the top 3 on the list for most of them. The things that do show up? They include mentorship, meaningful work, and a chance for career advancement. Inclusion in a strong apprenticeship program can be a huge step towards providing these things and getting more of the right people.

Apprenticeship, by definition, provides opportunities for people going into the trades to be mentored by experienced people. Participants also improve their knowledge and skills – which correlates directly with career advancement. By investing in young people in this regard, we also signal to them that what they do is meaningful and contributes to a larger objective. Yes, it helps the company succeed. A more important salient point, however, is that it teaches useful skills that help workers construct the built environment of tomorrow. They get to construct the structures that our kids will go to school in, worship in, and live in for the next 50 years.

By helping to build an apprenticeship program, participating in it, and selling it to the young people you would like to hire, you increase your chances of finding and hiring the right people significantly. In the immortal words of Terrence Mann in Field of Dreams:  “People will come, people will most definitely come.”