Go Plumb Young Man

Job prospects are dim... except for the trades. The Manchester Union Leader reports that the New Hampshire Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau forecasts strong job growth for plumbers, pipefitters, roofers, cement masons, diesel mechanics, electricians, boilermakers, carpenters, and sheet metal workers for the next seven years. Accordingly, people who would have never considered the trades are attending trade school and signing up as apprentices.

"Plumbing probably wouldn't have crossed my mind if I had something lined up right out of college -- which five years ago was not uncommon," said 24 year old Nick Moreau.

Plumber Philip Cocchiaro delares, "You learn repair work, you'll always have food on the table."

"You've always got something you can fall back on," advises plumber, Bill Welcome. "You're always going to need a plumber, you're always going to need a mechanic for your car, and you're always going to need an electrician."

We've got a shortage of labor while college graduates have a shortage of jobs and an excess of debt. Maybe some should consider a trade before considering college. This a great time for contractors to approach high school guidance counselors to advise them about the prospects in our fields.

Download this FREE HVAC industry recruiting brochure from the Service Roundtable's Free Stuff page. Check out the other Free Stuff from the Service Roundtable.

Marketing For Employees

I saw a great recruiting sign on the back of a cab in Houston yesterday. The headline proclaimed, "Looking for an office with a view?" The remaining verbiage was about the joy of cab driving, with a number to call. The sign made driving a cab sound more like a vacation than a job.

Dominick Guarino from the National Comfort Institute stopped by the Service Roundtable World Headquarters today. I mentioned it to him. He said he's been advocating technician recruiting ads that describe the requirements, emphasize the duties, build up the training, and stress the benefits without mentioning the industry.

Mike Hajduk from Callahan Roach Business Solutions also dropped by. He mentioned that John Garofalo (at least, I think it was John) used to take his car to a different lube shop whenever he needed an oil change. He would look around and see who was really hustling and seemed to have a great attitude. He would ask these guys if they would like more freedom and better pay.

Well, duh. Who wouldn't?

With the door open, John gave the guy a business card and suggested he give him a call.

With a shortage of labor, marketing should not be limited to recruiting customers. Use to recruit employees!

Read My Latest Rant

I'll never forget my first Gen X employee. During a minor crisis, I asked him to work late. He said, "No."

“Uh, what did you say?” I asked.

“No.”

Apparently he had other things to do and work just wasn’t that important.

As an aging, appreciating (well, per the bathroom scale I'm appreciating), WASP, I have a tough time with Gen X. I couldn't understand the programmer who turned down a healthy incentive to work over a weekend when we were trying to launch a new product. He wanted to work on his deck. We were paying him enough to hire someone else to build the deck and come out ahead.

Didn't matter. He wanted to build a deck.

If Gen X wasn’t enough, now we've got Gen Y.

Read about the challenges and positives of managing the new labor force below...

Here Comes Gen Y The Hell Should I?