When it comes to the completion of major construction, welding, fitting, and framing projects, you can’t just rely on anyone to get the job done. Instead, you want to ensure you’re choosing the best professionals in the industry. However, with an ever-increasing shortage of skilled trade available, it can be difficult for project managers to find their ideal team.
While some projects can be completed by new tradespeople, other projects require the more experienced hand of skilled tradespeople. Choosing the right team of experienced professionals ensures your project is completed appropriately and safely. But how do you find skilled tradespeople for your upcoming project when there is a shortage?
If you’re on the hunt for skilled tradespeople, keep reading to learn more about why there is a shortage and what you can do to find the right people for the job.
Understanding the Skilled Trade Shortage
According to the American Institute of Constructors, the construction industry is experiencing a major labor shortage. The industry is short about half a million workers, more specifically skilled trade, and that is beginning to put a major strain on it. But what exactly is causing this labor shortage, and is there anything that can be done about it?
There are a few causes of this shortage. The first problem is aging and retiring tradespeople. Experienced tradespeople are retiring more quickly than replacements can enter the field. Right now, an estimated 5 skilled workers retire for every 2 that enter the field. Beyond this, only about 50% of individuals who enter trade schools will graduate, exacerbating the problem.
There was also a long-time stigma about favoring vocational and trade schools over college, leading to a labor shortage. While enrollment rates are on the rise, it will take years to fill the gap created by retiring workers. That’s why so many project managers find themselves dealing with a lack of potential skilled trade when projects come around.
Why Certified Welders, Fitters, and Framers Are in High Demand
Because of the distinct shortage of skilled tradespeople, certified and experienced welders, fitters, and framers are in higher demand than ever before. Every project manager wants to ensure their project is being completed by a team of reliable, experienced welders, fitters, framers, and more.
Beyond the shortage, the United States is experiencing a massive infrastructure and tech boom. These projects often cannot be handled by inexperienced tradespeople, due to their major reliability requirements. Aerospace, energy, and defense industries cannot afford the risks associated with working with inexperienced professionals.
With these problems in mind, you can see firsthand just how much demand is being placed on the shoulders of skilled trade. Labor bottlenecks are becoming more significant than ever before, and the problem only seems to continue to grow. But, with expert support from a staffing agency, you can overcome these obstacles and find high-demand tradespeople.
Where to Find Qualified Tradespeople for Your Projects
As you begin your hunt for skilled tradespeople, you may find yourself looking in a few different places. However, it is essential that you’re particular when beginning your search to ensure you’re partnering with the right professionals. While online platforms may seem like an easy way to find tradespeople, this likely won’t provide you with the experienced help you’re looking for.
Instead, project managers should work with specialized staffing agencies to streamline their recruitment process. Staffing agencies maintain deep networks of vetted, certified tradespeople who are ready for immediate deployment. By partnering with an established agency, project managers can bypass time-consuming vetting and reduce labor bottlenecks.
Agencies manage background checks, certification verification, and administrative overhead, allowing project leaders to focus on project execution. Leveraging these resources ensures access to dependable talent tailored to specific project demands while keeping work on schedule and within budget.
How to Verify Certifications, Experience, and Jobsite Readiness
If you’ve been looking for skilled tradespeople and struggled in the past, the best way to ensure certification, experience, and jobsite readiness is by partnering with a temporary and permanent staffing agency. When you partner with a staffing agency, you can trust that you’re getting direct access to pre-screened professionals from the moment you begin your search.
With their support, you don’t have to go through stacks of generic resumes to find one skilled tradesperson. Instead, you are connected with skilled professionals from the start, allowing for faster hiring. Beyond this, you don’t have to worry about being in charge of payroll processing, tax withholding, and employee benefits.
This is handled by your staffing agency, allowing you to focus on the project at hand. Whether you’ve dealt with long hiring periods in the past or have struggled to find the skilled team you need for your project, you can trust that your staffing agency will help you fill these gaps and focus on the things that matter most to you.
Building a Reliable Skilled Workforce to Keep Projects on Schedule
Working with skilled tradespeople isn’t just about ensuring the job gets done properly; it’s an essential part of keeping your project on schedule. While working with tradespeople with limited experience may be fine for some projects, this inexperience can lead to headaches and setbacks. When you work with reliable, skilled tradespeople, you eliminate slowdowns by:
- Limiting Mistakes: Skilled workers understand the nuance of working in welding, framing, fitting, and more, limiting your risk of mistakes during the project and making essential corrections more quickly than when working with inexperienced tradespeople.
- Eliminating Labor Bottlenecks: Experienced tradespeople have better technical problem-solving skills. When they encounter problems, they’ll move more quickly through this and work in other areas while waiting for specialists to arrive.
- Minimizing Workplace Incidents: Reliable, trained professionals take much more care when completing complex projects, allowing you to avoid the frustration and risk of workplace injuries and incidents that you may experience with newer tradespeople.
- Improving Problem-Solving: When you’re dealing with obstacles during a project, a team of experienced tradespeople has the ability to pivot quickly without the need for constant micromanagement or pauses in project completion.
Let All Trades Staffing Help You Find Skilled Trade for Upcoming Projects
Finding skilled trade for your upcoming welding, fitting, and framing projects can be incredibly difficult, but with support from All Trades Staffing, you can trust that you’ll find the ideal team. Our team can help you find experienced, reliable workers to ensure your project goes smoothly from start to finish. No matter what project you have coming up, you can rest assured that you’re going to have a reliable team to support you from start to finish.
If you would like to learn more about how our All Trades Staffing team can help you find skilled trade for your upcoming project on the Wasatch Front, contact us today.
