3 Reasons Why New Tradespeople Don’t Stick Around

Fulton Cure is a quality control manager at Jordan Foster Construction’s Dallas, Texas, office. Opinions are the author’s own.

I have a few theories about why we are having such a difficult time acquiring, and retaining, labor in the trades. 

The labor market is skewed heavily in the face of a turning point that we as a society are dreading. And if we aren’t, we should be. We are seeing older, more experienced people starting to retire, hanging up their hard hats.

These are guys and gals who have been in the trades for 20-plus years. These are people who are certified experts in their field. They’re hanging it up and letting their bodies rest, finally. 

At the same time, we are seeing a lack of involvement in the trades from the younger generations. Some do join a crew, but end up choosing not to stay. More avoid it altogether. To read the rest of this piece from our sister publication, Construction Dive, click here.