The Skilled Worker Shortage That Exists Among High Unemployment

It is that employer's no longer understand skills, and they certainly don't understand experience, the only thing that matters is paper qualifications. When I was younger (I am nearly 50 now) when you had an interview you went to a company or factory and were interviewed by the manager (Or foreman as it was known then) and he talked about the company and he interviewed you, he would question your experience and your understanding of what was required, and would form an opinion of whether you would fit in and be able to do the job

Now you application goes to some remote HR office and processed by some idiot who hasn't got a clue about what an engineer has to do, or an electrician has to do, so all they can do is look at an official registry of qualifications and see if you meet that list and then and only then will they put you through, you could of worked in the industry 20 years but unless you have the specific degree listed on their list you will be passed by, and so employers only get people that HR deem suitable and that is detrimental to the company, as a manger you end up getting people with loads of paper qualification who can't do the job

You can't even offer the job to someone you know can do it perfectly, you HAVE to be seen to be doing it all correctly, transparently, cant be seen to be giving preferential treatment to any one.

Added to that is the new ethos from companies, demanding loyalty for employee's yet giving none in return, yes staff are a companies biggest expense in most cases, they are also their biggest resource which seems to slip their minds quite conveniently. They act like people should be grateful they are working there, where as in REALITY they should be grateful they have people working there making them profits which are often excessive,.

Nowadays you need a degree to be a filing clerk, how stupid is that? Staff are thee most valuable resource a company has, and until they realise that and invest in that this problem will always remain

I'll trade my cube job for a skilled labor job.

I hate being at a desk all day. I hate officey crap. I hate computers and the people with their inane computer related questions. They're pushing 40 years old for christs sake and you can't go anywhere or donanything without interacting with one. . There shouldnt be anymore questions.

From what I remember in college though blue collar folks, even skilled ones doin things white collar people couldn't ever do, are treated like garbage. Especially by their petty middle management supervisors who all seem to have emotional issues.

It's a shame they don't get the respect they deserve. Some definitely get the pay the deserve and more but no respect.

A good plumber, welder, carpenter, painter, electrician, etc... are all no less than artists and should be treated as such.

Though quite a few make it hard to do since they themselves tend to have very "blue collar" demeanors about them.

I wonder if it's a self fullfilling stereotype given its pervasiveness.


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

it can't remain forever, the boomers are retiring, with or without social security, they are gonna be leaving the workforce, and there ain't enough people qualified to replace them...so well, bring in those talented monkey's folks!! I want to see how well those navy jets fly with gaskets in the engines that are cut by monkeys!!!

coast to coast had a bit on a few nights ago about the college scam by the way, it was interesting and would fit nicely into this. the cost of higher education has gone through the roof and kept on going, and it seems like more and more positions require to shell out this rediculous amount of money before you can nab that job. so, well, you go out and get a loan, backed by the taxpayer, and you pay your dues, and in return you get this piece of paper that no longer means much anymore since the whole thing is about the money and not really about educating anyone to do anything. and, well, it's been going on for decades and has reached it's maturity...we are seeing the fruits of the complete lack of wisdom. they've valued their profits above their workforce, and now well, where's the monkeys??? hubby is ready to retire and well, wishes one of them would drop by the shop to replace him, he''s not working that much now anyways, the monkey would only be needed maybe 10 or so hours a week....
send in the monkeys!!!

Originally posted by daynight42
reply to post by Frogs

 

I'll try to forget about what Mike said. Stick to the TV guy. Nobody needs to trust anything you say until you establish yourself as something more than a actor who does TV shows and Ford commercials.

I take the word of the guys here who have opinions based on actual experience.

You might want to revisit his biography - he is doing things to promote american workers -- and he is pretty high profile about it. I respect the guy and I have worked with my share of nasty jobs.

reply to post by thesimonator2000


This sounds more like it than the original article.

I work in the repair industry. I have been doing what I do for over 30 years. I have spent close to 75k on my own personal tools that are required for my profession. I must be able to weld, follow and read both A.C. and D.C. wiring schematics as well as diagnose electrical problems from simple wiring to complex motor controllers, read, folllow and diagnose hydraulic schematic problems, understand and diagnose internal combustion engines, understand and diagnose manual and automatic transmissions, and now thanks to C.A.R.B. and E.P.A. must be able to install software, and be able to diagnose computerized engine programming.

My downfall, I am only high school educated, with some college. I am one of the top in my field. My pay is only around 50K. Those that are coming into this field or are less experienced make around 25K. I actually make more than my immediate supervisor. I literally put my life on the line every day I work due to the nature of the machinery I rerpair. I am now partially deaf due to the noise from the machinery, I have arthritis in my hands and knees, I have been exposed to carcinogins for over thirty years with precautions only now being put into place. My work requires that perform my duties in all types of weather, rain, snow, heat, or cold.

Imagine the outcry if the white collar workers had to supply their own laptops? Yes, I do supply my own, only the software is supplied by my employer. Is there any wonder that there is a shortage of skilled trade workers willing to do this for such small compensation?

respectfully

reluctantpawn

a reply to: pplrnuts

I have a feeling you know very little about skilled labor. If you started at $8/hr you must have been a plain laborer or apprentice. I started my first job as a tig welder making $15/hr with overtime every week. After 6 months I got a raise to $18/hr and when I hit my 1 year mark I was given another raise to $22/hr. Since then I have moved into a couple of different positions (some more physical than the first) but now I make $60/hr welding aircraft engines. It is easy work and low impact. All it takes is practice. Desk jobs are nice but skilled labor can pay as much and be as easy. My hardest job was as a pipefitter and it paid $37/hr. I made time and a half after 8 hours, double pay on sundays and triple on holidays. I once worked 6 hours on christmas (midnight to 6) and made $512 after taxes, then my boss gave me a christmas bonus of $5,000 for my year or work. The work can be hard but it ALWAYS pays.

a reply to: Divin3F3nrus
and I've seen ads in the paper for machinists paying 9/hr.
matter of fact my husband has turned a few down!

a friend of mine is an ironworker, now project manager for a large construction company, 20 years in the field. the biggest problem he says he faces is not enuf skilled trade.workers. there is a generation gap...the young people dont seem to wan learn trade skills and those new workers he sees coming into the field dont seem to want to actualy get thier hands dirty. begin ironworkers start at 30$ an hour with a benifit package that is around another 20 $ an hour.....hard dirty work WITH a future.....but lots of traveling for work and lots of 50 60 hour weeks, the youth of america today see the phrase "hard work" and think it only means to sit in front of a computer all day. I think that all the new technology is changing the perception of " hard work" and that people are forgeting how houses, buildings, machinery is made. I guess one question is , why do people in 1st world countries" shy away from this work? purposefully done to bring in workers from other countries who are willing to work for less money

a reply to: Frogs

Thats Weird. Its kind of strange that people with some intelligence wouldn't wan't to invest their time and money to get a job that is likely to be outsourced, or have to comepete with countries that have a much lower cost of living, or the likelyhood of their jobs given to foreign labor with visas.

Strange , indeed.

Sometimes I question this Global Market thing.

In addition would we be better off doing away with most of the federal gov't and giving individual states more power. Perhaps than instead of competing with China,Brazil,India etc we would be competing with Florida,Georgia,California,etc.

a reply to: dawnstar

I have a feeling that is more of an entry level position. There are ADS for welders around me (and machinists too) for 9-10/hr but they stay unfilled because of all the openings for the same position paying 13-20/hr depending on experience. Being a welder and a machinist is different work as well. My dad was a machinist and then an electrician so I have a lot of respect for what they do but I can run a lathe, drill press and mill just as well as he can...and I only do it occassionally. The days of the manual machinist have come and gone. As a CNC machinist you can make a decent living but you have to run a couple of machines and have experience + college or a certificate. It also depends where you live. Where I live a 1 bedroom apartment is around 1k/month plus utilities. I could live off of 9/hr if I lived in indiana or a state like it. I was merely arguing that desk jobs arent inherently better, easier or higher paying than skilled labor. It is opinions like that and bad work ethics that are creating the skilled labor gap.

a reply to: Frogs
Currently I am a batch plant operator in Seattle. We make the most complex and beautiful pieces of concrete I've seen around. I've always wondered why skilled labor like this hasn't deserved more attention.

Reading blueprints, correcting engineers mistakes, building your tall buildings, remodeling your mansions, building your tunnels, how would you get to your taxing job at eBay without us? As dirty and unhealthy my job is I come home every day feeling accomplished. I'm building this city, I can walk downtown and point out buildings that WE did, WE perfected.

Men in hard hats built this country, men in suits destroyed it. When all your pieces of technology fail and your left in the elements, what will you do next? You don't know anything, how to use a saw, how to even build something as simple as a wood bench.

Ranting is always nice, it just frustrates the hell out of me seeing some prick bastard in a 3 series who thinks he's better than me because mommy and daddy payed for everything and he makes six figures a year exporting toilet paper.

a reply to: safetymeeting

I fail to see where there is a skilled worker shortage because I'm a carpenter and in my area most small construction businesses are barely surviving.

a reply to: Frogs

So our high unemployment is due to a shortage of jobs that a nutless monkey could do and, tragically, we're down to only having jobs available for people who have a marketable skill of some kind? That's a darn shame I guess. Maybe people ought to acquire a skill then?

a reply to: onequestion

Maybe your working in the wrong area :p we are very short in work in my shop wanna move to Seattle? Three of my carpenters are over the age of 60, my QC just retired at 73. My shop boss is 60. My maintenance man is late 50's.

we constantly have now hiring signs up, the upstairs secretaries are always posting help wanted on Craigslist. My generation has been conditioned to believe that if you get dirty, you don't deserve. Success is measured by accessories not by life knowledge.

Many of the kids my age would rather work 15 hours a week at Nike making 8$ an hour, instead of busting ass for 50 hours a week, learning real skills. The good ol boys at the shop have really opened my eyes to how blind my generation is. The next youngest person in my plant is 42, I am 23. Quite the generation gap.

a reply to: Urantia1111

Which skilled labor jobs are they exactly?

a reply to: safetymeeting

I lay tile and install hardwood and laminate flooring, and Seattle sounds great I love the culture on the west coast.

Most companies can't give me the hours I want. I want at least 6 10 hour shifts a week.

a reply to: onequestion

Sorry to hear that man. I've had a couple 60+ weeks this year. Boss lets us work Saturdays if we need the cash, just as long as we are helping the company.

That being said, workload has tripled in the past month so ill be working 60+ for the remainder of winter. I am currently having a hell of a battle, deciding on what to do with my life. I have over a year of college done, and I have the opportunity to go back
.

But why would I? To be 60k in debt from loans? I'm already paying into a 401k, retirement, a quite nice health plan. I would be going back to school to save my body from shutting down from all the hard work. It's a hard balance between having steady money for the rest of my life with a retirement plan on track, and throwing caution to the wind to pursue my environmental engineering degree to just be insanely in debt down the road and jobless. I'm just typing and not reviewing any of this I hope it's all relevant haha.

a reply to: safetymeeting

You should post in my other threads.

At the fail of the USSR, we got to see the folly in Communism,
Now with the US, we will finally see the folly of Capitalism.

I hope Ayn Rand is somewhere watching this....

Something I discovered in Europe, that I had never witnessed in the US is the way people hire freelance artisans.
You want to have a new kitchen cabinet? You call a Carpenter.
You want a new Roof? You call a local roofer, a man who works with his two sons.
You want a wall? You call a mason.
Skilled workers here don't work for a company, they work for themselves. They have no business office, they do not advertising- word of mouth and reputation takes care of that. They are able to make a very good living this way.
I kinda like that.