By Margie Miller
For some of us, construction is just in our blood. Include me in that group, please. Residential construction has been my livelihood and my passion for more than 3 decades. My career started like so many in this industry: I had a high school diploma but few employable skills, and I needed a job. What I lacked in training was made up by my capacity to work hard and to learn from observation. As it turned out, construction was a good fit for me and I stuck with it.
A few weeks ago, I was speaking with an enthusiastic young man about his job as a residential construction worker. The builder he is working for is someone I know; we both worked for the same remodeling company at one time, years ago. It was fun to talk with this apprentice and to pull up some old memories about the ambitious and talented character he works for, who now runs his own successful business.
Because of my background & experience, I couldn’t resist offering him some advice! I said, “Learn everything you can from everyone you are working with, because the average age of construction workers in this country is 40 plus, and there aren’t enough young people coming up to fill the gap when they retire. If you like the work and stay with it, you will be in a very good position in this industry!”
This is evident in my sales position at Curtis Lumber, as more than half of the contractors I encounter on a daily basis are middle-aged or older.
Part of that is simply from the changing demographics in our workforce, as fewer workers overall are entering the workforce. The result, naturally, is that a larger proportion of the workforce will be older. The future demand, however, will not mirror the predicted reduction in the workforce. Employment of carpenters is projected to grow by 20% this decade according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. As the US economy recovers from the recent recession, demand for all building trades will naturally increase.
These jobs may not be well suited for everyone, but for some, they can become a rewarding career. The potential exists for a career path that could extend well beyond wearing a tool belt, including project management, sales and business ownership.
For someone who thrives on physical, outdoor work, there are few options better than the building trades. The money can be very good, especially for someone who is not academically inclined and who lacks a degree. The level of satisfaction from a completed project is immense. To have a hand in something enduring, useful and beautiful creates a sense of pride and accomplishment that is rare in many other occupations.
Why, then, are these jobs so frequently overlooked and dismissed as undesirable? We value our homes, so don’t we want the craftspeople that build or maintain them to be well trained? Students who express interest in working with their hands for a living are typically steered towards college because those jobs are deemed unworthy. An article I read several years ago had a quote from a university professor who clearly stated that trades training creates “second-class citizens” and therefore, everyone should go to college.
This professor’s denigration of an entire segment of our workforce appalled me. Not only was there a lack of appreciation for the valuable and essential component of our economy that the trades represent, but also an unrealistic understanding of the average student population and a simplistic view of our country’s workforce needs. Not all students are interested in academic success and a degree doesn’t guarantee a college grad that there will be jobs available in their chosen field.
According to the California Department of Education, “Out of every 100 students who enter California’s public high schools, 30 will drop out before graduation. Of the 70 who are left, only 21 will go on to college. Of those who attend community colleges, half will drop out in the second semester. Yet, most of our education and counseling resources are geared to encourage young people to enter and complete college, even though few will ever do that.”
It is true that we have some excellent programs in our high schools and our Career and Technical Education Centers (also known as BOCES), but how much are students encouraged to focus in the direction of building trades?
A thriving economy needs workers that fill a broad array of occupations, all of which should be valued for their contribution to the economic structure. As technology intertwines more and more with what once were brawn-based occupations, the need for well trained technicians and mechanics in the field becomes essential.
“Nobody would ever advocate for people to be less educated, but we do need to be more precise about our guidance when it comes to how much education is necessary, based on the careers that exist in our industries of today.” says Doug Leavens, Director of Career and Technical Education at the F. Donald Myers Education Center in Saratoga Springs. “Given the aging of the current workforce and the more advanced skills that the average worker needs to support business and industry, there is a growing need to ensure greater alignment between the qualifications for work and the education necessary to be qualified. Employers in this region can only survive and grow their companies if the skills of the average high school student are elevated to meet the requirements of the world of work in 2012.”
I couldn’t agree more with Doug’s comments. The common sense approach to secondary education would be to acknowledge that some students may be destined, for whatever reason, to become blue collar workers and to allow them the hands-on training that will prepare them for the workplace. This would give students real, employable skills upon graduation and a sense of pride that comes with capability.
There is no substitute for hands-on experience when it comes to learning any trade. So much of building requires skill that can only come from repeated practice with tools in hand. An apprentice stair builder or a mason, for instance, can not become proficient by studying textbooks alone, any more than an athlete who is aspiring to become a football player can.
I know a 30-something carpenter who comes into the store on occasion, who grew up in New Zealand. He once told me that he was amazed how in the US, virtually anyone with a hammer could call themselves a carpenter. The training that he received at the high school level to become a carpenter was thorough and rigorous, and he was surprised at how differently trades training was approached in the United States.
Many residential construction workers, like me, learned practically all of their building skills on the job, and it really takes many years of experience to become a capable trades person. Multitudes of television shows may make it look quick, easy and uncomplicated, but please be assured that there is much more to proper construction techniques than it may seem.
I know I am not alone in my desire for greater support of, and appreciation for all trades. I don’t think anyone says it better than Mike Rowe, and I highly recommend a visit to his website, www.mikeroweworks.com for more on this topic.
Margie Miller worked as a carpenter and roofer for 30 years. For almost 20 of these years, she owned her own roofing and light remodeling business, and currently, she works in sales at Curtis Lumber in Ballston Spa. She can be reached at 885-5311 or www.curtislumber.com.