This month, this year the news is full of interest rates compared to housing starts, and how the construction business is in a slump. What few people are talking about is the rising age of the average carpenter and its effects.
The health of the housing industry is clearly documented as a marker for the economy as a whole. A warning sign of trouble, new home sales are also seen as the light at the end of a recession. Few dispute the importance.
Therefore, like global warming a few years ago, a shortage of skilled people to build and repair our homes looms to plague and confound expert predictions, and threatens to influence our economy in frightening ways.
As an employer, I’ve witnessed this for many years in my own microclimate. The qualified, responsible, productive and reliable applicants are usually weather beaten, comfortable in worn clothes, perhaps missing the tip of a finger. Now it is easy to think maturity and family responsibilities bring out the best, but 30 years ago I was competing and working with many young guys who believed themselves to be working towards a career as builders and craftsmen.
The business has always been transient, so perhaps you didn’t always see the same young guys on a given crew for very long, but there were plenty of eager strong muscles around. As a way for ski bums to earn their next winter or to pick up dollars for a few months in a new town, construction has served the youthful well.
Now, however, in this age of computer riches within easy clicks, wearing a nailbelt is not so fashionable. I see guys try it, but many do not last long. It is dirty, uses untested muscles. In the winter it’s cold, and the summer too sweaty. Too exhausted to go out and party, many don’t appreciate the good night’s sleep.
The effect of this shortage can be devastating. With contracts to perform and a shortage of labor, I’ve put men in charge who inadvertently committed costly mistakes. In demand, the experienced guys require higher wages and the cost of a house rockets higher than a barrel of oil. Clients are bewildered that no one returns their calls, not understanding how busy the good ones are.
Like learning to build green and turn off our pick-ups at the lumber company loading dock, we need to attract a younger generation to an honorable profession. Vocational tech schools, builders’ associations, and journals all help. Perhaps more blogs--invitations in their medium and language—can help.
Bottom line requires that we all help each other to raise the bar and attract new blood. This needs to be a business where hard work has its reward and one doesn’t make the kinds of mistakes as I have made, that hurt clients and subs and himself alike, leaving an otherwise honest, motivated and qualified builder wanting to quit.
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