Seven months after graduating from an electrical trade school and with no job prospects in sight, a 21-year-old Houston man decided enough was enough. According to a news report from www.click2houston.com, DeAndre Matthew made a hand-lettered sign that read “I am an electrical trade school grad with no experience. Please take a resume and help this electrician apprentice out.” Armed with the sign and a stack of resumes, Matthew stood at a busy Harris County, Texas, intersection with hopes to land a job lead or maybe even a job offer. To find out what happened as a result of his initiative, see the original news story.
Matthew’s inability to find work probably comes as a big surprise to many. As widely reported by EC&M, the nation’s construction industry, particularly the electrical sector, is experiencing a skilled worker shortage. The following are just a few examples of on-trend news items we have run in the past few months:
- 80% of Contractors Report Difficulty Finding Qualified Craft Workers to Hire
- 2018 NECA Convention Launches New Efforts to Battle Skilled Workforce Shortage
- ABC Highlights Construction Worker Shortage during National Apprenticeship Week
In addition, EC&M has tackled the effects of the skilled labor shortage in several feature articles. “License to Survive” by Matthew Halverson details the State of Kentucky’s controversial effort to address the critical shortage of electricians by introducing Senate Bill 78 earlier this year, which calls for the creation of a one-year, nonrenewable provisional license. Freelance Writer Tom Zind’s article, “Inspection Delays Raise Red Flag” outlines how understaffed building departments in some busy regions of the country are struggling to complete timely inspections and what's being done about it. For even more information on the skilled worker shortage, don’t miss our September 2018 cover story, “Growth Surge,” which contains exclusive data and commentary on this subject from key players in the electrical industry.
Director of Content Ellen Parson has also voiced her thoughts on the subject in the recent editorial viewpoint columns “Recruiting/Retaining Top Talent Is Still Top of Mind for Design Firms” and “Growth Spurt Continues for 2018 Top 50 Electrical Contractors,” in which she relates how data from EC&M’s propriety Top 50 survey revealed 87% of respondents are having issues with worker shortages. “Almost unanimously, the Top 50 named 'recruiting and retaining qualified skilled labor' as their single biggest business challenge,” she said.
To help combat the skilled worker shortage, members of the electrical industry have ramped up their efforts to attract new talent, which EC&M is also committed to covering. Don’t miss these articles to find out what is being done and by whom to help remedy this situation:
- IEC Foundation Awards Grants to Support Electrical Apprentices
- The Home Depot Foundation Commits $50 Million to Skilled Trades Training
- IEC Lights Path for Future Electrical Workers at Georgia Skills USA Conference
- Rosendin Electric Offers Workers Free Transportation
- Lowe’s Offers Employees Trade School Support
