High school students have no idea you exist.
OK, let’s put that more accurately: Many of the most promising candidates for vacant technician jobs in maintenance and engineering departments know little or nothing about the maintenance profession or its specific jobs. Given that blind spot, it is no wonder managers in institutional and commercial facilities struggle year after year to find applicants interested in filling jobs in the skilled trades.
Here is the reality managers face: Only 6 percent of high school students hope to have a future in the skilled trades, defined as: plumbers; carpenters; electricians; heating, ventilation, air-conditioning and refrigeration (HVACR) technicians; and repair people, according to study done on behalf of RIDGID released earlier this year.
What keeps high schoolers from the trades? Many students simply aren’t interested or do not consider themselves mechanically inclined, according to the study. That’s understandable.
But the study also found students avoid the trades because:• 21 percent do not know enough about the profession• 15 percent do not believe opportunities exist• 11 percent do not think the jobs are cool• 10 percent say skilled the jobs are not high-tech enough.
If ever a situation cried out for some education and myth-busting, this is it. Somehow, managers — either individually or working with other interested parties — need to get in front of high schoolers to let them know skilled trades jobs are available, achievable, rewarding, and even cool.
Some students who know the facts still will choose to look elsewhere. But managers and their organizations cannot afford to let a vast pool of potential applicants pass by without setting the record straight, answering questions, and demonstrating the long-term promise the profession can offer.
Many trade schools or regular schools who once had classes in metal working, auto shop, electrical and other trade related topics have closed due to lack of funding, overhead costs or insurance / liability reasons.
Back ground checks may red flag people for simple things that happened in their youth. Some of which will effect their employment chances for 10 or more years into the future. This is mostly because no one bothers to read the reports in detail. Too much effort to challange the verbal policies for a third pary gain. I know of a great hands on mechanic who currently has a assault charge on his record. He was 18 and got into a fight with his new girlfriends ex-boyfriend. Now 26, he is still affected by that one mistake.
Unrealistic job descriptions or educational requirements are submitted to the hiring agencies do more damage than most think. I have seen advertisements on Monster for a facilities day porter with a college education requirement. I saw another for an entry level line mechanic that required a bachelors degree. Another common mistake is requiring a trade license when only a certification or basic hands-on experience is needed. People in highschool see these over inflated job requirements and look else ware.
Many of the old time trades professionals who built this country came into the field through O.J.T. Most did not even have a high school diploma. Yet they showed up to work every day. Did a good job and where loyal to the company for believing in their ability to get the job completed. They climbed the ladder and knew the business inside and out. Today most of us will not even consider a person who does not have a high school diploma. Not even the person who had to drop out to support his family in a time of crisis. They are deemed not worthy.
Today’s facilities managers do not go into the high schools and ask for interns. They do not host job fairs for juniors and seniors. There are many reasons for this, but the excuse is that we do not have the time, patients, resources, it is not our job, let H.R. do that stuff, etc, etc, etc. If we where to consider recruitment of new talent in the same category that we place critical predictive maintenance tasks, I’d bet we would find the resources and time.
We have developed into a group of people who are proud to “manage” the processes. We have become very good at picking up the phone and calling others. There is a “Me first” mentality today. People want raises for doing their basic jobs based upon time served. They want something at 90 days, 6 months, 12 months, etc. Very few FM’s know how to repair items themselves. Very few new FM’s have climbed the ladder up the trade side of life. Hiring managers figure if someone has a college degree there good enough to run the place. Let us be honest, my college degree was based on chasing skirts, sleeping though class and drinking beer all night. What a shame.
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But the study also found students avoid the trades because:
• 21 percent do not know enough about the profession
• 15 percent do not believe opportunities exist
• 11 percent do not think the jobs are cool
• 10 percent say skilled the jobs are not high-tech enough.
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These percentages only add up to 57 - what happened to the other 43%? Anyway....
Sabre makes a valid point about the lack of funding and available resources to try to attract or interest young people in technical fields. Many trade schools have closed due to lack of enrollment. All we push on young people now is go to college so they can Twitter, Tweet, and text message their way into a high-paying job....right.
Today, it seems to be more likely that if something malfunctions, it's cheaper to just throw it out and buy a new one rather than try to fix it, so why bother learning how it works? That's our present day "instant gratification" and "drive-by" mentality, I guess. I absolutely agree with Sabre about the "Me" mentality....I see it every day on the roads with people "multi-tasking" behind the wheel. So much for anyone else's safety or well being.
Adding to that is the attitude that working with your hands became a dirty word somewhere along the line and is only suited for people who are challenged in some way or can't afford college.
Many years ago, I did a presentation to a group of high schoolers about the facilities profession. I never did it again as just about all of them snickered through the entire session while I explained how interesting a day could be while juggling several things at once and learning something new in the process. I just don't think that many young people today have the same level of maturity that they once did and their vocations are of little interest to them until sometime in the distant future. They seem to care about today and give little thought to tomorrow. That's probably another topic altogether.
I got into a discussion with someone once about the merits of being self-reliant and how much money I've been able to save myself because I do most of my own work rather than call for service or employ a contractor. I used the analogy that the next time his home air conditioning fails or his car won't start, he should call his college psych professor for service and let me know how that worked out.
JustAJanitor:
Thanks for your comments. Thanks to Sabre, too.
Regarding the percentages in my blog, the remainder of the responding students say either they are not interested or do not consider themselves mechanically inclined.
As for how best to reach interested applicants in high schools and anywhere else, any solution probably will come less from an individual manager's efforts and more from working with other interested parties. In this group, I include professional associations related to maintenance and engineering, peers in maintenance mangement with other organizations locally, and any other parties with resources and something to gain from the effort. Strength in numbers, in other words.
And as you and others are proving, myFacilitiesNet is an ideal forum for exchanging ideas, sharing experiences, and crafting strategies that managers can use to recruit, train and retain qualified, young technicians.
Great discussion points-- here is a very successful approach is to reach kids through Music.
Feel free to share these Maintenance Songs with kids, teachers, parents, employers and most importantly of all the media.
I spoke to a group of 6 graders a couple of years ago and 3 of the girls already knew the lyrics of my song "Find Me a Maintenance Woman" because their local radio station has been regularly playing it.
Visit SkillTV.net for links to some of the songs.
Top 10 Reasons for Young Adults to consider Maintenance Profession
Top 10 reasons to pursue a career in the maintenance field
10. It's OK to get dirty on the job.
9. You get to carry a master key and venture into places few have gone before.
8. You get to work on the most important projects.
7. You get to play with cool tools (infrared cameras, ultrasound sensors, etc.).
6. You can earn lots of overtime pay.
5. Companies cannot survive without maintenance.
4. You get the opportunity to learn how the company really works.
3. Guys dig women who know how to use tools.
2. Women dig guys who are good with their hands. (they love scars)
1. Earning lots of money per year buys a lot of beer.