Where do you hire, how do you train?

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Coppersmith

Coppersmith

Senior Member
Location
Tampa, FL, USA
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
I'm having difficulty finding qualified service truck electricians for residential work. What sources do you find useful for finding these people? Do you find you have to do significant training to get them ready for the field? How are you accomplishing that?

I have this recurring fantasy of setting up a long mock attic obstacle course a couple of feet off the ground in a warehouse. It will have twists, turns, places that one would have to crawl through, places that required climbing, have taut alarm cables, flexible A/C ducts blocking access, loose boards to step on, be filled with insulation, and be pitch dark requiring a flashlight be held. I figure if a guy can go in one end and come out the other without falling through the drywall, he's passed the first stage of testing. :)

Maybe I'll heat it to 130 degrees too. Maybe I'll make him/her carry a bunch of tools and make sure s/he doesn't lose any on the way through. Ha ha ha, this sounds like fun. Guess I'll have to put a bunch of IR cameras in there to watch the progress :D
 
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When I retire to Florida I'll take a job on your service truck .. no problem

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K8MHZ said:
Call the hall?
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I called the hall two months ago. They still can't find anybody qualified for residential service truck. The hall is great when I need four guys for a commercial gangbox job. They really fail at residential service.

I'm allowed to hire outside the hall if they can't satisfy my request within 48 hours. I want to try that, I just don't know where to go.
 
I know our hall used the resi. as a tool to turn contractors union and when we were looking for men we ended up with JWs that I knew could do the work; after the contracted housing we only did commercial/industrial.
 
Coppersmith said:
I'm having difficulty finding qualified service truck electricians for residential work. What sources do you find useful for finding these people? Do you find you have to do significant training to get them ready for the field? How are you accomplishing that?

I have this recurring fantasy of setting up a long mock attic obstacle course a couple of feet off the ground in a warehouse. It will have twists, turns, places that one would have to crawl through, places that required climbing, have taut alarm cables, flexible A/C ducts blocking access, loose boards to step on, be filled with insulation, and be pitch dark requiring a flashlight be held. I figure if a guy can go in one end and come out the other without falling through the drywall, he's passed the first stage of testing. :)

Maybe I'll heat it to 130 degrees too. Maybe I'll make him/her carry a bunch of tools and make sure s/he doesn't lose any on the way through. Ha ha ha, this sounds like fun. Guess I'll have to put a bunch of IR cameras in there to watch the progress :D
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I remember the pre-requisite for hiring anybody is whether they could navigate to the shop without GPS, and breathing!

The dream will be here quicker than you think. AI robots! I'm looking at augmented reality for purposes I won't get into. It will change the entire industry. All the technology is out there. We, the Neandertals of construction have a hard time getting away from Excel!

Just plant a real live camera on the techs head and guide him through the house as you watch from your sailboat... :)
 
Gary11734 said:
I remember the pre-requisite for hiring anybody is whether they could navigate to the shop without GPS, and breathing!
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This is fine when you have a big job where foremen are watching the men. If somebody doesn't know what they are doing, they get a layoff and another batch of prospects arrives the next day. Manning a service truck has got to be the hardest job to fill. Probably 5% of experienced electricians qualify.

Gary11734 said:
Just plant a real live camera on the techs head and guide him through the house as you watch from your sailboat... :)
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Since my goal is to have a fleet of service trucks and to otherwise do as little as possible, this does not fit my plan. I prefer my sailing to be uninterrupted.
 
nickelec said:
Well I'm 30 years old now so older is like 40 at least lol
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Well you said "when you retire". I'm assuming you'll be significantly older when that happens unless you're one of those financial wizards who will retire at 40 in which case you don't need my job but I need you advice.
 
Coppersmith said:
Well you said "when you retire". I'm assuming you'll be significantly older when that happens unless you're one of those financial wizards who will retire at 40 in which case you don't need my job but I need you advice.
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No probably retire when I'm 55-60 hopefully

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Non union electrical contractor associations are good for that around here. Like Independent Electrical Contractors (IEC). You can hang out outside their 4th year class and look for the clean cut guy who's not smoking, he should be able to handle your attic course in the summer. Or join an association and have them put you in touch with guys. A lot of the big resi service companies like MR. "something electrician" or "plug type device" Doctor, or "mythical bird" electrical join those types of independent associations to meet their training requirements for insurance, etc. without having to go union.

Growing up my dad had one of those nationwide franchises. He would come home bitching often enough about how they paid all this money to train their guys, just for them to get hired away or go out on their own as soon as they've learned enough. My point is, go steal some guys from the big resi franchises. They don't seem to care too much about us smaller guys anyways. You'll also have the added bonus of finding out what they're charging.

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We’ve been using ZipRecruiter but it’s hit and miss.... mostly miss.

I’ll review 100 resumes and find 5 worth calling, maybe 1 worth hiring.

One of my very best, probably the best, came from a temp agency. I’ve hired maybe 5-6 through the staffing services. But I haven’t used temp help in prob 18 months. I was sending the majority of them home before the first day was over. Now we just use the ziprecruiter site and look for people to hire full time.


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WarrMann said:
My point is, go steal some guys from the big resi franchises.
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I would have to agree with that on the premise that the ones worth having already have a job.

Just be prepared to have them recruited away from you or spend the money to keep them.


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brantmacga said:
We’ve been using ZipRecruiter but it’s hit and miss.... mostly miss.

I’ll review 100 resumes and find 5 worth calling, maybe 1 worth hiring.

Now we just use the ziprecruiter site and look for people to hire full time.
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So to summarize: ZipRecruiter is a waste of time, yet it's the best alternative.

I was hoping for better. Thanks for the info.
 
Ok, let's approach this from another angle. When you guys are looking for a job, where do you look?

I'm assuming you union guys just sign the book at the hall.

Websites (which ones)? Newspaper want ads? Craig's list? Call shops? Stand outside the Home Depot with a sign? Let me know.
 
Coppersmith said:
So to summarize: ZipRecruiter is a waste of time, yet it's the best alternative.
I was hoping for better. Thanks for the info.
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there is a shortage in skilled labor. take a deep breath, things are
starting to slow down here, and i'm guessing it's not just here.

right now, my wholesale house has business off about 85%, or worse.
my certs, as they are for anything needing a permit, are a better indicator
of actual work in this area. they are off 50% over two years ago.

but i've been getting calls from people needing bids, and i haven't strapped
on the tools in almost 4 years. they can't find electrical contractors, and
the ones they are finding are really screwing up their job flow.

so the shortage in work hasn't caught up with the shortage in skilled labor yet.

service truck guys, if they are good, are rare as you know. if the hall can't
dispatch, you can go out on your own... most places, the hall has the right to
replace your street hire when they have someone come available.

but getting a good service truck guy out of the hall is a bitch of a chore.

talk to your guys, and find out who they know. talk to your wholesale house
guys, and find out who they know. the problem is, anyone good enough to
make money on a service truck is doing it, on their own truck. :-/
 
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