If you’ve spent any time in the trades lately, you’ve heard the statistics. For every five people retiring, only two are entering the skilled trades.
We need hundreds of thousands of electricians, welders, plumbers, HVAC technicians, and carpenters. The numbers are heavy.
But I think we’re talking about the wrong problem.
Every time the labor crisis comes up, we point somewhere else:
- It’s the schools.
- It’s Gen Z.
- It’s college.
- It’s parents.
- It’s the economy.
- It’s regulations.
- It’s data centers.
- It’s AI.
It’s anything but the one place we should be looking:
Ourselves.
That’s an uncomfortable statement. But after spending years talking with contractors across the country, I’m convinced that there is no labor shortage.
We Keep Waiting for Someone Else to Fix It
Think about how often owners say things like:
- “We just can’t find good people.”
- “Kids don’t want to work anymore.”
- “Nobody wants to get into the trades.”
Maybe. Or maybe, the hard workers just don’t want to work here.
The companies attracting great people aren’t operating in some magical labor market. They’re dealing with the same economy, the same schools, and the same generation as everyone else.
The difference is that they’ve stopped waiting for someone else to solve the problem. They’ve taken ownership.
The Industry Has Earned Its Reputation
This is the part nobody likes to talk about. The trades have a reputation.
Ask enough people outside the industry what they think working in the trades is like, and you’ll hear familiar answers.
- You’ll spend years doing nothing but grunt work.
- Your boss won’t coach you.
- You’ll be told to “pay your dues.”
- If you don’t like it, someone else will take your place.
Is every contractor like that? Of course not. But enough are that the perception exists. And perception drives decisions.
People don’t choose careers based only on earning potential. They choose careers where they believe they’ll be respected, developed, and have an opportunity to build a future.
If a company’s reputation says otherwise, we shouldn’t be surprised when talented people choose something else.
We Want Experienced People…
…But we aren’t willing to build them up.
Every contractor wants the “five-year technician.”
- The experienced welder.
- The licensed electrician.
- The fully trained project manager.
Very few are willing to invest two years developing a new hire into that person. Instead, they expect someone else to train them:
- The schools.
- A training organization.
- An apprenticeship program.
- Another contractor.
Then we wonder why everyone is fighting over the same small group of experienced people. The workforce we need two years from now has to be developed today. There’s no shortcut around that.
Stop Guessing What the Next Generation Wants
When was the last time our industry sat down with a thousand 16 year olds and simply asked: “What would make the trades attractive to you?”
Not a presentation.
Not a brochure.
Not another marketing campaign.
Just a conversation.
Then bring in their parents and ask the same question.
Instead, we create campaigns we think they’ll love without ever testing them with the people we want to reach.
We’re talking to ourselves. That’s not marketing.
The Companies Winning Are Doing Things Differently
Here’s the good news. Some contractors have figured this out.
- They invest in leadership.
- They train managers how to coach instead of just supervise.
- They build career paths.
- They communicate expectations.
- They create a culture where people actually want to stay.
And guess what? They’re not struggling nearly as much to attract and retain great people. Are they perfect? No, but they’ve realized something many contractors haven’t. People aren’t just choosing a trade. They’re choosing a company.
It’s Time to Stop Playing the Victim
Are regulations part of the problem? Yes.
Is the education system part of the problem? Absolutely.
Do licensing requirements make it harder for people to enter the trades? Without question.
But here’s the reality. We don’t control most of those things.
But, we do control how we:
- Lead.
- Train.
- Treat apprentices.
We do control whether people leave work excited about tomorrow or wondering if they should quit. The contractors who focus on what they can control will outperform the ones waiting for someone else to fix the industry.
The Future Won’t Be Built by Complaining
People have been talking about the skilled trades labor crisis for decades. If talking solved the problem, we’d have fixed it by now.
The future belongs to contractors willing to invest before they’re desperate. To leaders willing to change before they’re forced to. To companies willing to build people instead of hoping someone else already has.
The labor crisis isn’t going away because another report tells us how many electricians we need. It changes when enough contractors decide to become part of the solution instead of another voice describing the problem.
That’s the conversation our industry needs to have.
