goldstar
Senior Member
- Location
- New Jersey
- Occupation
- Electrical Contractor
Well stated. I can't speak to being an employee because I haven't been one for some time now. But, take a look at all the comments that have been made in this thread from an employer's point of view, then turn yourself around and you can make similar opposing arguments from an employee's point of view.I have often heard employers say "It's so hard to find competent help." I ask, in return: What are you doing to train tomorrows' workers?
All too often, I have them reply "Oh, NO! I am not about to train someone, just so they can go work somewhere else!" Yet, these same folks are all too ready to hire someone trained by another.
I've seen companies go to absurd lengths to prevent employees from using what they learn to further their own careers. For example, the employer will provide the required OSHA 10-hr. training, but will see that no credential is ever received by the employee.
Indeed, lest I speak the unspeakable ... one of the "advantages" employers see in hiring illegals is that Mexican immigrants differ from every other immigrant group in one major way: they do not seek upward mobility, being content to linger in their entry-level positions for a lifetime. Don't take my word for it: James Michener documented this decades ago when he was writing his novel "Centennial."
Since I entered the workforce (in the early 70's), I have seen the steady closing of opportunities for advancement. "Back then," several of my supervisors had moved up - often to senior positions - thought they had not gone to college. Ironically, they often found themselves implementing policies that closed the doors to future ambitions souls.
The electrical trade used to be a great launching point into other areas. Not any more; "journeyman" is as far as you're going. Good luck moving out of physically demanding construction work as you age. No degree, no future. Who, I ask, would want to enter such a field?
Meanwhile, our schools teach from the 1st grade that "the trades" are for the losers, misfits, and others "not good enough" to go to college. By the time these kids graduate, they firmly believe that skilled tradesmen are little more than slightly retarded chimpanzees with tool belts.
Small wonder it's "so hard to find good help."
As has been previously stated, those quality people that currently have jobs (what few are available) are not going to be leaving those jobs to work for companies with less to offer than the one they currently work for. If you don't have the ability to make an exceptional offer to attract them then the best you can hope for is to find people with a good work ethics, willing to work for what you have to offer. Don't worry about training them and then losing them to another company. That's been going on since the beginning of time. Get the best hired help you can afford but don't expect them to work at the same level as you. Your compensation package you have, I'm sure, is going to be lot higher than that of the person you want to employ.
If you are skillful enough and have the foresight to find a specialized niche for your business (like the enterprise that Mike Holt built for himself) then your company will grow and you can develop your own quality personnel who will stay with you for a long time. On the other hand, if you're one EC among 100's in your area who is just installing lights, switches and receptacles you have the same misfortune of drafting from an under-educated work force as everyone else does.
Keep the faith. You're probably not going to find that EXACT person you want for the job but there are still quality people out there who can do a great job for you.