Blue-collar blues: Skilled trades seek workersANTON TROIANOVSKI
Wall Street Journal
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Paul Souders/MCT Mike Rowe, host of the Discovery Channel series "Dirty Jobs," was hired to appear at a trade show earlier this year by a maker of construction equipment that's trying to recruit young blue-collar workers. Even as the economy slumps and unemployment rises, strong demand for power plants, oil refineries and export goods has many manufacturers and construction contractors scrambling to find enough skilled workers to plug current and future holes. With the shortage of welders, pipe fitters and other high-demand workers likely to get worse as more of them reach retirement age, unions, construction contractors and other businesses are trying to figure out how to attract more young people to those fields. Their challenge: overcoming the perception that blue-collar trades offer less status, money and chance for advancement than white-collar jobs, and that college is the best investment for everyone. To highlight the benefits of a career in the skilled trades — and, sometimes, the potential pitfalls of automatically opting for college — unions and employers are turning to schools, the military, MySpace and even a 46-year-old former opera singer named Mike Rowe. Rowe is the host of the Discovery Channel series “Dirty Jobs,” which chronicles him tackling tasks ranging from alpaca shearing to steelworking. Rowe is in talks with Terex Corp., a Westport, Conn., maker of construction equipment, which has a two-year backlog of crane orders, thanks to strong overseas sales. Terex, which hired Rowe to appear at a trade show earlier this year, is hoping he can help it recruit young workers as the company’s current work force ages. “Attracting the best and brightest into the industry is a challenge; it’s not happening,” says Mike Bazinet, a spokesman for the company. Rowe confirmed he is talking to Terex, but doesn’t know what his specific role would be. It would likely involve extolling the virtues of manual labor, as he has done on his show since its debut three years ago. “We’ve made work the enemy,” Rowe says. “Essentially we took the nobility and the necessity out of it and replaced it with this vague sense of drudgery.” Rowe has also spoken to employees of W.W. Grainger Inc., an industrial-supplies distributor. Jim Ryan, the chief executive of Grainger, says his company has no immediate plans to team up with Rowe but that it has spent about $400,000 over the past two years to fund technical-education programs around the country. “In the last several years ... all of the benefits of a career in the trades have kind of gotten lost in the clutter of all the other career opportunities,” Ryan said. “What the industry needs is to be much more aggressive in marketing and creating visibility.” Companies and unions don’t dispute that college can be a wise investment, but they also say some unionized craft workers can earn more than the average college graduate, without the burden of student debt. “You earn while you learn,” says Brian Couch, a young electrician, in a video posted on the Web sites YouTube and MySpace. “It’s not like going to college where you go to school for five to eight years and have to work a part-time job.” That video and several others like it were developed by public-relations firm Pac/West Communications for Local 48 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the National Electrical Contractors Association in Portland, Ore. The two groups have teamed up for the online campaign to encourage high-school graduates to consider an apprenticeship as an alternative to college. MySpace is owned by News Corp., which also owns Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal. In many parts of the economy, there are too many workers, rather than too few. Since January, the U.S. has lost 463,000 jobs. Residential construction and manufacturers that rely primarily on the U.S. market have been hit especially hard. But the energy industry is hard up for workers who, among other things, can make precision welds, fit pipes for pipelines and oil refineries, and understand the complex electrical wiring in modern power plants. Though the weak housing market has idled many workers who did similar jobs for home builders, their skills often aren’t sharp enough to make the cut. Dusty Henry, a 25-year-old electrician in Portland, Ore., who belongs to IBEW Local 48, says he earns $34 an hour working on renewable-energy projects while some of his friends who went to college are having a hard time finding jobs. “I chose the path that I wanted to take...and learned as much as I could for that one thing,” Henry said. “You go to college to kind of figure out what you want to do, but if you don’t figure it out, you go out with debt and you still don’t know.” In Indiana, where BP PLC is spending $3.8 billion to expand its Whiting refinery, demand for carpenters, electricians, pipe fitters and several other trades is expected to outstrip supply by 16 percent or more in the current quarter, according to construction-industry consulting and investment banking firm FMI Corp. Such shortfalls are forcing some employers to delay projects and others to pay their workers higher wages or offer more overtime. Rich Mycka, a Highland, Ind., contractor whose specialty is managing heavy industrial jobs like upgrading factories and relining blast furnaces, says he can’t find enough qualified project managers, construction managers and schedulers. And he expects the labor shortage to get worse as workers retire: Mycka says the average age of his 30 employees is close to 50. Kevin Chavez, an Albuquerque, N.M., cement contractor who employs about 100 workers, says he has raised the wages for his skilled workers by 7 percent to 10 percent a year over the past 18 to 24 months. His unskilled workers haven’t gotten a raise. Skilled-labor shortages are likely to intensify in coming years as more workers retire and the economy picks up again. By 2012, FMI predicts, nationwide demand for electricians, masons and pipe fitters, if their numbers remain constant, will exceed supply by at least 5 percent. Regional and seasonal shortages are expected to be much steeper. Between 1995 and 2005, the percentage of 18- to 24-year-olds in college rose to 39 percent to 35 percent. Manufacturers, contractors and unions don’t dispute that college can be a wise investment, but they also say that unionized craft workers can earn more than the average college graduate. Advanced Technology Services Inc., a Peoria, Ill., factory-maintenance company that employs 2,300 workers, organized a field trip to a factory for a local high school in April and is helping fund a training program for high-school graduates at a cost of $1,500 per student. The program tutors them in a variety of skills. It is planning to host other high schools for visits in the coming year. Michael Arndt, training director for the 300,000-member United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the U.S. and Canada, says a journeyman in his union — someone who has graduated from an apprenticeship — could earn about $30 an hour, or $1,050 for a 35-hour workweek. By comparison, median weekly earnings for workers 25 and older with only a bachelor’s degree amounted to $999 in the second quarter of 2008, according to the Labor Department. “To the extent that people are picking college, they’re turning down construction,” says Kenneth D. Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America, an Arlington, Va., trade group. To encourage young people to think about a future in the building trades, Simonson’s group has put together kits for elementary-school students that show, among other things, how to build a bridge out of popsicle sticks. This month, Arndt’s plumbers and pipe fitters union launched a pilot program at one of its Washington state training centers offering an 18-week welding course to state National Guardsmen returning from the Middle East. Graduates will be admitted to the second year of the union’s apprenticeship program. The union is also lobbying the Marines Corps to allow it to bring mobile welding training trailers to Camp Pendleton in California, so it can offer a similar program to soldiers there who are awaiting their discharge, according to retired Gen. Matthew Caulfield, a consultant to the United Association. |
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Comments
This article has 24 comment(s)
Posted by chucktonian on August 24, 2008 at 12:53 a.m. (Suggest removal)
"Jim Rowe?"
MIKE ROWE!!!!!!!!
Get it right
Posted by jdmarine on August 24, 2008 at 2:33 a.m. (Suggest removal)
the common thread in this piece is what???? something that you will never have in sc because the business owners are too greedy! UNIONS!
Posted by UberBlitzkrieg on August 24, 2008 at 2:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Where does it say Jim Rowe?
Posted by citizenbo on August 24, 2008 at 5:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)
We all know that Americans are not as skilled as those cheaper workers from other countries. That's been hammered into our heads as a reason to move jobs out of America. Simple answer is to move your companies out of America and all the cheap skilled labor is at your fingertips.
Posted by jammer on August 24, 2008 at 7:17 a.m. (Suggest removal)
the theme of this story is don't go to college and go work hard for a living so after 20+ yrs you can make more than a college kid who just graduated...
don't listen to this BS, I've been a skilled worked all my life and although I do make more than most college educated people it took many years to get to that point and I spent way more in tools over the years than I would have in college fees
it's hard on your body, your health and your wallet to be a skilled worker... and to top it off because of todays technology you DO have to go to college several times during your career to supplement your knowledge due to the every reaching electronics and changes in even the skilled workers field
I've had to go back to college for continuing ed semesters about every 10 yrs or less to stay ahead of the curve of evolution in my field
so, no even skilled workers have to go to college to become GOOD skilled workers today
I look at it like this now, if you have to go to college and spend the kind of money in tooling I have over the years then you should just go ahead and spend that time and money in college on a better career that will advance you much further in life and make you much more money in far less time
if I could do it all over again I certainly would have picked a much more lucrative field that wears less on your body so I could have a better quality of life much earlier in it and be able to retire much earlier... but many men in my generation just went straight to work first, the scholarship opportunities etc etc weren't as widely available back then as they are today
go to school when you're young kids!! you will have a much better quality of life much earlier in it and will be able to kick back and relax later in life at a much earlier age than the blue collar workers
Posted by majorjohnson on August 24, 2008 at 7:54 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I have a feeling jammer wouldn't be happy with any job. Skilled workers do make good livings, and often go on to own their own businesses. Hired a plumber lately? Plumbers make decent money, and they work for companies that are owned by plumbers. Electricians, HVAC, brick workers, these people work hard, yeah, and they make pretty good money without a 4 year or graduate degree. They do go back to school off and on and increase their skills, but so do programmers and chemists. Call your local chemist or computer programmer to fix your plumbing and let me know how that works out for you.
Not everyone has the aptitude or attitude for higher level education. Quit pushing college as the only way to make a good living. Yeah, you may need college courses to upgrade your skills, my father was a welder and as he progressed he took courses to learn new welding skills as he worked and supported his family and went on to eventually be shift foreman in a nuclear vessel shop. Someone like jammer, who apparently has spent his entire life on the shop floor, isn't going to do any better with a good degree than he's doing now, unless he joins a union and can get paid as much as possible to do as little as possible.
Posted by jammer on August 24, 2008 at 8:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)
majorjohnson I didn't say I'm unhappy at my job, I'm very satisfied with what I do... but there are better options for younger people
I make very good money, but it took much longer than it would have if I had went for a better career through college much earlier in life... take that for what it's worth, if you want to work hard for less then go for it major but that wouldn't be my advice for the younger generation
the money you pay for a plumber etc isn't what that guy makes, it's what the company makes
Posted by jammer on August 24, 2008 at 8:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)
and btw I do run my own business as well major, you can stop putting your foot in your mouth anytime now... why you must try to demean someone to make a pointless point is beyond me... it won't make you "look" better, it'll only make you look like an idiot
Posted by coolfreaknbeans on August 24, 2008 at 8:42 a.m. (Suggest removal)
There are seveal factors to consider when choosing a career path.Sure blue collar jobs can be rewarding financially.But they can also be unreliable.Some jobs are weather dependent and famous for layoffs.Not to mention you can't do manual labor forever-your body gets beat down over time faster.I agree with jammers comments.In order to really succeed in these careers you will need college to climb to the top.Unless you're happy with the "bossman" barking orders at you when you're 55yrs old and being treated like a dog.
Posted by moonpie on August 24, 2008 at 8:43 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Yeah business owners are too greedy and the past ten years they have been giving these jobs to ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS! You shall reap what you sow, morons.
Schools should be pushing kids that no way no how are going to college into trade schools, even in high school. But like I said what prospect for a job do they have? Illegals have those jobs, running heavy equip, welding, fitting, plumbing, framing, roofing, general construction.
Posted by flygirl06 on August 24, 2008 at 8:45 a.m. (Suggest removal)
After our wonderful state government sold us out as CHEAP LABOR to attract new industry.......we did the unheard of!! We rose above and voted to become a UNION at our plant, here in good ole Charleston,SC. jammer is correct, what you pay for the product/job, is not what the worker makes.
Posted by LadyRenegade on August 24, 2008 at 9:20 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The_Mouth_of_the_South yammered on about "The problem is with the hispanics, both legal and illegal."
I don't know about that comment being true. You don't see too many hispanics working at Scotchman or Hess or running Mom & Pop stores. You gotta worry about them there Indian peoples. Please come again.
P.S. You know, your butt is really going to hurt when you fall off that pedestal you've put yourself on. Your comment reeks of disrespect and prejudice.
Posted by coolfreaknbeans on August 24, 2008 at 10:12 a.m. (Suggest removal)
LadyRenegade posted "...You gotta worry about them there Indian peoples." For a moment I thought Biden was posting.LMAO
Posted by RTC on August 24, 2008 at 10:17 a.m. (Suggest removal)
There is nothing wrong with being a tradesman. Not everyone is college material, nor can they afford the tuition.
I've never heard of an electrician or plumber not having a job, but there are plenty of new college grads still waiting tables, because they can't find anyone to hire them with their degree in art history or English Lit.
Many companies will hire someone as an apprentice and pay for their schooling to become licensed. Not a bad deal at all.
Posted by chucktonian on August 24, 2008 at 10:42 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Initially, the caption underneath the photo said "Jim Rowe." It's been fixed
Posted by chucktonian on August 24, 2008 at 12:39 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Lindsey Grahamnesty and the rest of the RINOs and Libs are leading the Mexican invasion
Posted by Neponset on August 24, 2008 at 1:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I think that most of you don’t have a clue as to what a skill worker is - he/she does not dig ditches or equivalent. We are talking about folks that can do fine work such as :
Finish carpenter that can do a cope cut that is near perfect
A machinist that can machine a large forging, that cost thousands to prepare, to tolerances of a few thousands of an inch.
A welder that can perform near perfect welds using only a mirror ( because he can not see the the puddle of molten metal he/she is working).
And the list goes on.
My point is that skilled work required intelligent folks and is not the area for dummies and folks on drugs.
Posted by jammer on August 24, 2008 at 2:45 p.m. (Suggest removal)
RTC I know many plumbers and electricians out of work right now, their jobs were taken by the illegals and then the housing market bottomed out...
I know some of the finest cabinet/carpenters that are out of work now as well, they can't find anyone to pay them what they think they are worth, and paint hides a lot so the job bosses are just letting illegals do the finishing work and hiding it with paint/spackle... hence why you see so few stained cabinets anymore
being a tradesman isn't a bad thing, it can be very lucrative but it's going to take many years to get to that place
one of my main points is that you can do it a lot quicker with much less work by going to college for something in white collar demand
or you can work hard all your life and make "enough" to raise your family and be happy with just that if that's your calling, to each their own... but there is an easier softer way if you're wise enough at a young age
Posted by Neponset on August 24, 2008 at 3:04 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Jammer
Tell us what you do so we can figure out what your problem is with finding a good paying job. Are you unskilled, unwillimg to work or what?
Posted by jammer on August 24, 2008 at 5:19 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Neponset you obviously are NOT reading my comments, try reading them again and you will find out that I make plenty and there's absolutely no hint of me ever having job security issues...
I've worked more hours in the last 30 yrs than most would in 90 yrs, this isn't about me finding good work... it's about todays environment and what it takes to reach a decent living status if you are just entering the skilled labor force
you're completely missing my point by trying to point at me
gezzz some of you people are hard headed and too lazy to even read what was typed before you comment, you just want to find an argument... lol
Posted by I_Love_d_Peninsula on August 24, 2008 at 6:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I hear you loud and clear Jammer. I constantly tell my children this as well. blue collar jobs are rapidly fading and without a degree, and sometimes multiple degrees, you are setting yourself up for a life of hard times PERIOD.
Posted by Neponset on August 24, 2008 at 6:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Jammer
Wrong - sounds like you have a lust for a college degree - I have met a lot of folks like you - folks who didn't go to college for one reason or another and in middle age regret it.
Posted by jammer on August 24, 2008 at 9:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Neponupset I went to college too... you aren't reading dude
I've logged enough credit hours for a cpl degrees
again, take the blinders off and read before you post!!
don't worry, I called your wife and she swore she'd give you some soon so you can finally concentrate on the topic at hand... no not your hand, AT hand... lol
Posted by whome on August 24, 2008 at 10:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Just some observations
The average undergraduate finishes college with approximately 30K in debt.
Unions didn't kill Detroit. Wall Street killed Detroit, unless of course, you think that the UAW decided that it didn't want to build fuel-efficient cares.
IMHO, "skilled" labor is not so much as a certification or a license, but instead a way of being able to think and "tinker". So while industries and skill sets may become obsolete, many of the tradesmen that I know (who if the opportunity arose today would be doctors and lawyers) will never become obsolete. They just get "it."