The Hill Street Blahg

What is your company doing to ensure the wealth of critical skills and knowledge isn’t lost due to retirement? With the aging skilled and experienced workforce in this country reaching their golden years, employers now have a challenge ahead of them in staffing capable employees.

For the first time in its 15-year history FMI Corporation recently released an annual analysis of construction firm training practices and expanded it to include recruitment, retention, and retirement concerns. This report was in response to uncertainties related to the “ongoing war for talent” most companies have been confronted with these last few years. The report went on to describe how construction firms are not only expected to take a big hit with their top executives, middle-managers, and project managers, but they’re also going to lose a large portion of their skilled journeyman who actually do the work in the field. According to the report, firms that work with seniors to retain their experience and knowledge will have a distinct advantage over those who don’t.

The building trades were once a practical alternative to college for those with the required technical skills and the desire to learn a trade. All of the local building trades unions sponsored state approved apprenticeship and training programs and produced some of the finest mechanics an employer could want. There was always a waiting list of applicants which was usually 10 times the openings available in the training programs and only the well-connected were accepted in to the programs. The apprentices earned while they learned and once they graduated, could easily earn a comfortable living working their respective trades. That was then and this is now. This obviously hasn’t been the case the last two decades and thus the shortage of skilled and experienced workers.

It appears that Grandpa (and in some cases, Grandma too) better oil up their rusty tools and strap on their tool belts. It seems like the silver-heads will have to show the few young whipper-snappers left in the building trades how it was done “back in the good old days.” So say good-bye to sleeping in, your morning Metamucil and a good baked potato at noon, and make sure a porta-potty is within reasonable range during working hours.