Construction Work???

denick

A post by stepiron from the UK over in E&SW mentioned what seems to be more than an American problem of young people wanting to go into the construction business.

On a serious note Why has this happened? 37 years ago I was 17 we had a tidal wave of guys looking for summer jobs and getting overtime was the big draw. There was always someone who wanted a chance to learn some part of the trades.

It's easy to make remarks about how people are today but what do you think really happened? Is there something that could be done? Does anyone care about doing something? Is a forum as large as this with it's open communication of ideas a way to find a cure?

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Nick

"Every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving" Albert Einstein

POOLMANinCT

computers

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......Less with the jaw & More with the paw.....

KentWhitten

I think most people that grew up in the trades like we all have here feel that it gets tougher and tougher every year just to make cost of living increases in wages. I am telling my kids that as a summertime job, it's fine, but to keep doing it to make money is going to be real tough.

I did a quick cost of living increase test from roughly 1980 to today. If you were making $15/hr, in todays rate it would be approx. $36/hr. I'm sure that's going to be a similar story with many types of business and also the minimum wage.

And like poolman said....computers. 1980 we had MS-DOS. The first microsoft windows version came out in 1985. 20 years later, just one generation, look what has happened. Computers have changed the world so dramatically.

GregS

Yes, changed the world.. for the better? Debatable. High speed world wide computer networks now open to the masses have unfortunately made the world smaller. Maybe not for travel, but for communication.

Let's the big corporations get bigger and get away with more by exploiting the smaller less rich nations for their cheap labour and lax health and safety practices. Thank-you Walmart.

It's flattening the market and the labour force for pricing and wages.

Just my opinion anyways.

maurajbo

Not having seen the UK post, I'm not sure what you mean by a problem of young people wanting to go into construction. I'm guessing you meant they don't want to.

There are several colleges offering scholarships to people willing to learn construction trades and many construction companies are offering free training to people who are willing to enter the industry.

Also, Bush's guest worker program is aimed at allowing immigrants to come to the country to work in industries where labor is short such as construction and healthcare. I have mixed feelings about this program - I won't get into that, but I will say that construction firms are one of the driving forces behind the movement to get some legal means for immigrants to work in the country.

Graybeard

I started out in 1974 as a green-as-grass surveyor for Bechtel on an iron mine project. All you needed at that time was the ability to learn fast and have the willingness to work. There were a lot of BIG projects happening in the 70's. To move up the ladder, you didn't need a degree; you just had to show that you could do the job. Times have certainly changed. Today, heavy industrial construction is simply not happening in this country, and those projects hired a lot of workers and paid very well. It drew a lot of "new blood" into the trades and construction industry as a whole. Our country has to provide work opportunities. When was the last time you saw Help Wanted ads for construction workers? If the money and opportunity isn't there, kids graduating from school will look elsewhere. Our country needs to seriously wake up and restore its industries before it's too late. Wal-Marts aren't factories. McDonalds aren't steel mills.

fathersonfab

The Industrial Age is dead.. it's now the Information Age. We need to find a way to keep up and tailor our businesses to this new age, it's just a fact of life.

Dustball

I was born in '79 so I don't have direct knowledge of what the job market was like back then. Isn't there a wider variety of jobs available nowadays compared to back then?

Aman

Construction business is one of the most difficult businesses.But the person with a passion to do it enjoys the risks and adventures!!
Today the trend is not same as it was few years back...Cost of living has increased drastically and people are finding it more and more difficult to meet the expenses
So its better to come up with innovative ideas so as to have an enjoyable life

joasis

My wife's brother has a son, who cannot find a job in Gallup, NM. (unemployment 20%)I like the kid, 18, seems like a hard worker, and wants to go to the railroad like his dad....starts at $19 an hour for track crew position. Ok, fine. The hiring process takes a long time, and he needs something to do, so my wife told him he can come and live with us this summer and work for me. $8 an hour, and guess what? No way! I thought 8 bucks was great for an 18 year old with no job skills who is not going to be staying long, plus room and board. No point in trying to train him when we know he will leave when Union Pacific calls. I guess sleeping in and hanging out til they call is better then working...all I can guess.

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