Working-class employment in the U.S. is changing. My dad was a carpenter and many of my friends’ parents worked in the trades or in a factory. However, the vast majority of middle-income parents want their kids to go to college and get a professional job, not work in the trades. Today, a college degree can cost well over $100,000 with student loans burying graduates in lingering debt. Yet millennials and others do not see the trades as an opportunity, even if trade workers make more money and enjoy what they do.
According to The Economic Policy Institute, working-class employees without a degree made up 66% of the entire workforce. Remember too that much of this workforce is composed of women, and traditionally the construction industry has not done that well recruiting women. Competition for employees will continue to grow and be a major business issue for years to come. Your business employment practices must change, or your company will have a painful future.