Big John

This was posted by a member on another electrical site, but it struck a topic very close to home, so it seemed worth posting here.

This is Mike Rowe, creator of Dirty Jobs addressing a Congressional committee about the future of skilled labor in this country: For some reason I can't embed the video. Click here.

Coincidentally, I just heard a piece on the radio about this that said it's apparently happening for many skilled positions, including engineering and programming, where companies are having trouble finding qualified applicants.

I think the unspoken part of that is that companies may be having trouble finding the applicants, with all the skills wanted, who are willing to work for the pay offered.

We seem to be dumbing, and pricing, ourselves right out of business.

-John

spdone

You have that right! Less companies are willing to invest the money and time to train or can't find applicants willing to see the future of being a 1st year apprentice with corresponding wages. I can actually see both sides to this. The question for both sides is: why?

I actually believe that specialization has a part in this also. Dig a ditch for $10/hr for your boss the EC or run the back-hoe for the underground contractor for $14/hr? Maybe not a great analogy but you have the idea.

don_resqcapt19

In some cases this is just an excuse to be able to hire more foreign workers at a lower wage under the H1-B Visa program.

John Valdes

Ask yourself where have all the trades apprenticeship programs gone? Why are there less people getting in a trade. Is it because college promises a better future? No.
It is because this country has turned its back on those who have laid a path for others to follow. Its called the Union.

NJWVUGrad

Well said, the decrease in Union representation in this country ties directly to the increased marginalization of the middle class.

We have no voice in the job market and we have no voice in the government. Illegal, unskilled labor has eroded any concept of a capitalist free market system as it relates to competing for jobs.

spdone

Thanks for bringing up the Union vs non- union argument so we can crush it right off the bat. A factor in the OP's suggestion? Maybe so but if that is all you can think of, you are very narrow in your knowledge. May I dare you to bring up other relevant reasons for this shift in skilled labor with out your boring U. vs NU bs? EVER AGAIN! This is a much larger issue than that. Treat it as such, butters.

Big John

I am not in a union, and I have my gripes with unionization, but I think what you said is absolutely right.

It seems like one hell of a coincidence that the decline in union membership very closely matches the increasing stagnation of middle-class wages. There's of course more to it than that, because with globalization, union or not, a company can still just shift the jobs offshore and get slave labor in China to do the work.

But it definitely seems like we have a skills and training problem among the workforce in this country, and the folks who are skilled and trained are competing in a market that is increasingly no longer interested in paying a commensurate wage.

-John

pwregan

corporate america would love to see the unions die off and then what do you think they will do to labor?

Love or hate the labor unions but they are the only ones that keep the middle class from becoming lower class

Record profits the last few years and incomes and jobs for that matter are stagnant
we are going down a patch of bad road and need to really look at who is steering the ship

RGH

Field trip idea: Buffalo NY cir..1960 major producer of steel/autos/auto parts/rail parts/chemicals/tires/tools/and sooo much more...fast forward modern day..3rd poorest city in nation...loss of over 100,000 manufacturing jobs...in the 80's alone..many things lead to this but chief among them was unrelenting globalization of manufacturing to low cost low skilled countries..with little or no government over site as to safety and environment controls as well....we have never been the same nor will we...like them or hate them unions helped build our great nation...living wages and benefits...having grown up in a blue collar city I can asure any nah sayer 99% of these men/weman were not getting rich...they did ok...so..look at our great nation up to its ears in dept...45 million on food stamps..unemploment god only know the real numbers..wages stagnant for 30 yrs!!!!!!!!! top 1% has seen wild growth in its income they now control 50% of all the wealth...I think I have keep to the facts..at the end of the day..are we better off as a nation...?..I vote no...

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Frasbee

I saw a concrete crew come on site last week. And they were all old and grey haired. It was strange to see such an old crew doing some of the most back breaking work in our industry.

HARRY304E

................Hows that john

YouTube Video

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varmit

Unfortunately, a lot of us old folks have no option but to work till we die. The US inflation and the difficulty of having enough extra income to save any appreciable amount of money for retirement, has doomed many of us old folks. Will anyone hire me to do electric work when I am 70? My only hope is to do all I can to stay healthy and keep working as long as possible.

I DON'T MEAN THIS TO BE WHINING, JUST STATING FACTS.

nrp3

Good video. It will be interesting to see whether my daughters take an interest in the business when they get older. Not really concerned about what folks think of what I do. I have a college education too. If I wanted to be white collar, I would. I like what I do and working for myself.

Wirenuting

I still hope one of my sons will want to learn the trade. I have to many old tools to just throw away. I would like to pass onto my only grandson some of my grandfathers tools that I still use.

Trade knowledge is something being lost to our McDonalds society. No one wants to get their hands dirty.

My father offered to send me to law school. But I wouldn't give up my rooftop view on a beautiful day. He was blue collar and a phone lineman when he was young. He understood.

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nitro71

Businesses whine that they can't find a person with a set of job skills that they dream up for the price they want to pay. Here's a list of skills I often see clumped together:

Journeyman industrial electrician
Welder
Machinist
Millright
PLC programmer
Motor controls

$22/hr Only those with 5 years experience in our narrow field may apply.

WTF! Of course they can't find anyone.

ilikepez

No one wants a new guy no matter what schooling you have had. They want someone who can do everything that they can pay nothing.

crosport

Too many opportunities today are missed by young people just for the simple reason that trades look like hard, get your hands dirty type of work.I'd rather be a tradesman anyday over sitting in a chair at a desk shining the ass of my polyester pants.SO many jobs I've had over the years have been me jumping in a company van driving to the office then going off to jobs and basically being left alone by the boss man to do things the way you want and then collect a decent paycheque.What more can I ask for.

leland

1st off- Thanks John- this was a well kept secret (the video) for those of us working every day. I agree and am thinking of a way to help the cause.

On the other hand:
Dumbing down and pricing us out of work?

Ya can't ship building a house in Dedham overseas.
Nor can cheap Chinese Labor replace servicing your local 7-Eleven.

Not in this State- Union or not- and I aint going there, NOR SHOULD ANYONE ELSE. (thank you)

My step son would not come help me- in the past- 'Because everything is wireless' - one summer with no work or money- and a trip to a 'wireless' cell companies site= that only handled voice mail-.
wish I had a better answer- he still has NO interest.
i really wish I were 30 yrs younger- there will/is money to be made.

sites like this I think help.

OaklandElec

You guys all sound like a bunch of communists. Get back to work wage slaves.

macmikeman

As far as I can tell, the next generation in this land is supposed to bid on abandoned storage containers for a living.......

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