The Jig is Up – We Need Skilled Trade Contractors
Learn why skilled trade contractors are vital to our society and our economy.
Read about some consequential effects of a shortage in skilled trade contractors.
For too long, the message to young people has been that a college degree is the ticket to success. Statistics supposedly back up this notion, although, based on my daily experience on Earth, the math doesn’t add up for droves of college grads today. I’m not knocking the value of education, but college is not the only place to be educated after high school. More specifically, there is chronic demand for reliable, skilled trade contractors.
Skilled trades in this context refers to jobs such as plumbers, electricians, carpenters, welders, masons, HVAC technicians. Certification in any of these areas requires apprenticeships along with formal training programs. Spoiler alert: For the foreseeable future, there is good money to be made in skilled trades without racking up tens of thousands of dollars of school loans.
As an independent insurance agent who has insured trade contractors of all types for years and years, I’ve seen firsthand the gross payroll that runs through some shops. Those that take their work seriously have no shortage of work. I don’t know of one who is in fear of being replaced by AI (Artificial Intelligence). That doesn’t mean AI won’t affect their operations, as it will likely be used to streamline some administrative functions, including optimizing service routes.
Higher education, for all its good purposes, has also misled through false expectations, as well as engendered attitudinal harm. The average college student today does not have the means to explore multiple areas of study, shift between majors, and tack on more time and money in earning a degree. A four-year college or university is often not the right place for students who lack direction, but who may be plied with false hopes and promises about the doors opened with a college degree. There are and will be plenty of worthwhile career opportunities for people who do not go to college.
Skilled trades engage both the hands and the brain. Mental focus becomes physical accomplishment - - you see the results of your work! Our society and our economy depend on skilled tradespeople. Here are three textbook truths that require attention:
| 1. | Skilled trade contractors are absolutes in building out and maintaining infrastructure. It’s real simple. AI (Artificial Intelligence) isn’t going to be repairing or constructing bridges, digging ditches, laying sewers, paving roads, or fixing downed power lines. AI is also not going to be framing, wiring, plumbing, or drywalling buildings and homes. | |
| 2. | If there are not enough skilled tradespeople available to do the work mentioned in 1. above, a domino effect begins. The first domino to fall is likely project delays, possibly followed by increased project costs to secure qualified workers from a shrinking pool of workers. If less-skilled workers are relied upon instead, the result may be a compromise in the quality and durability of the work performed. Everyone pays in the long run through higher costs and loss of or injury to persons and property. | |
| 3. | Social Security benefit amounts to retirees are jeopardized in the near and long term if payroll tax revenue coming in to fund current benefit payments going out is insufficient. | |
A reckoning is on the horizon. It should start with realistic and thoughtful planning for our future, a future that fulfills both great minds and skilled hands.
Richey-Barrett Insurance is a Trusted Choice Independent Insurance Agency that has served the insurance needs of skilled trade contractors for decades.
