EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE Technician Shortage is a PRIORITY


THE SKILLED BLUE COLLAR worker shortage is not new, but it should be a very large concern for any service business who wants to stay relevant for the future. Baby Boomers are retiring at a fast pace and leaving a void of qualified technicians/craftsmen in every occupation. Many baby boomers who worked in the trades for the last four decades have persuaded their children to pursue college degrees to have a perceived better career fulfilment, better pay, better working conditions, and cleaner working environments. There isn’t a problem with higher education, but everyone is not suited to sit behind a desk and look at the same four walls day in and day out. Just because a person has a college degree does not mean they are going to find their dream job. As a matter of fact, about 50% of college graduates have taken jobs in which they are underemployed. In essence, this means they are doing jobs for which their major or degree is not related. A considerable percentage of college graduates have jobs that don’t require a bachelor’s degree. Another fallacy about college is earning potential, which when coupled with college debt, does not work out in favor of the college graduate. Can you imagine spending four years in college, amassing student loan debt maybe in the 6-figure range, and you have to take a job in an unrelated field to your degree? Some college graduates don’t always make enough to pay for college debt loans and provide for independent living. This is why there are so many young adults in their mid to late 20’s living at home with their parents. The inability to be independent due to the inability to find good paying


jobs is happening every day in every state to thousands of college graduates.


Source of Skilled Labor Shortages


There are many reasons for skilled labor shortages; two of which are the retirement of baby boomers and the prevalence of higher education among this country’s high school graduates. These two trends contribute to setting the stage for the highly skilled blue collar worker shortage we are facing today, tomorrow, and the next decade. To be fair, some small businesses have had difficulty with paying a wage that will attract young people to an industry that many view as less desirable. This problem only gets worse as time goes on. It is imperative our industry changes the opinions previously held by those who are advising today’s youth about their future careers.


“The future of your


business and the future of our country is going


to depend on the next generation of skilled


craftsmen and women...”


One of the industries that seem to have valid statistics on the labor force shortage is trucking. According to Peggy Fisher’s Tire Business article “Tackling the Truck Technician Shortage,” written in March of 2020, the US will need roughly 67,000 diesel technicians to replace those who are retiring and 75,000 new diesel technicians because of the expansion of the trucking industry by the year 2030. Baby Boomers make up almost 50% of


30 | THE COOLING JOURNAL | September/October 2021


Mark Taylor NARSA/IDEA Executive Director mtaylor@narsa.org (410) 320-5119


the diesel technicians currently employed, and they will all be retired by 2030.


Truck and diesel technicians are not alone when it comes to a labor shortage. According to Earlbeck Gases & Technologies, 50% of all man-made products require welding in March 2016 . In 2016, the average age of a welder was 55 years of age. The welding industry estimated it will need 400,000 welders by 2024. Once again, the popular theme of Baby Boomer retirements and fewer young people taking their place has created a welder labor shortage.


Overcoming Misperceptions


Perhaps the biggest challenge in hiring is overcoming the belief that a job with a company that specializes in heat exchanger service and diesel emissions service does not provide a path for advancement, is physically demanding, not for women, low paying, unrewarding, or dirty.


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