In a recent interview with one of our skilled technicians, Shane, I asked who inspired him to start his work in the trades. He went on to tell me how he owes it all to his mother. I just smiled and thought about how my mom was the biggest influence on my career path too. I’m certain Shane and I aren’t the only ones in that boat!

My mom worked as a middle school teacher for over 40 years. She touches tools as infrequently as possible. Most folks who know her would agree that her mechanical aptitude can be described as “limited at best.” It’s safe to say I learned most of my technical skills from somebody else. Despite this, every skill I have that has made me stand out from others over the years WAS learned from her. And there’s nothing technical about them.

Career Lessons from Mom

Your technical skills get you hired but your soft skills are what keep you hired and allow you to advance. I’ve said that to every class at every tech school I’ve ever visited. I learned the truth of that lesson myself over decades working with people possessing far more “craft” than I do. However, I learned the skills themselves from a life spent as my mother’s child. I had no idea they would all be relevant to life in the trades as well.

Work Ethic – My mom never missed a day of work unless she was physically unable to work. She’s never paid another person to do a job she could do herself. She does extra so others can do less. And she never complains about it. Unsurprisingly, she’s consistently viewed as an indispensable team member.

Organization – No matter how many events, projects, parties, or tasks my mom must juggle she never drops the ball. Calendars on the fridge, post-its in her purse, and notes in her phone all help my mom keep her work (and life) properly prioritized and on-schedule. Her rigorous planning means she rarely wastes time or effort and is universally assumed to be always on-point.

Punctuality – Being late doesn’t make you a bad person but it can make for some bad problems – especially when it comes to your employment. Being early never cost anybody anything except a few extra minutes. Show up everywhere early with something to fill your time and you’ll always be there when it matters. Do it enough and people will notice. My mother’s adherence to this principle didn’t just result in a good reputation. Punctuality means she is never the one seeking out critical information that was missed, but frequently is the one dispensing it.

Communication – Sharing blood doesn’t mean that you share a communication style. That’s certainly true in my family. But whether my mom “speaks my language” or not, she still needs me to receive her information and provide mine to her in a manner we both can absorb. This means she’s constantly trying out new phrasing, imagery, and tools. She even got a Snapchat account to continue that effort with her next generation of communication failures (her grandkids). This commitment to communication has allowed her to understand (and be understood by) many generations of different ages, races, creeds, genders, etc. It has also kept her professionally relevant well into her fifth decade in the workforce.

Professional Pride – Whatever you do, do it to the best of your ability and then stand by it. This is true regardless of whether the final result ends up being good or bad. If you try your hardest and own your work, you will benefit by either an increase in esteem (external factor) or knowledge (internal factor). Both will always benefit your career. Knowing this has allowed my mom to change with the times to continue to provide the same quality of education to students today as she first did so many years ago, throughout very different eras.

This Mother’s Day I hope you all take the time to think about what your own mom has done to help form the person and professional you’ve become. Then tell her why and make sure to say “thank you”. She deserves it. If those of you who are mothers would like to further influence your child by getting them to think about a career in the trades, that’s a great idea! I can’t think of a better way to celebrate this holiday (and the trades) than by having a conversation with mom.

Spring means a lot of things across America but in hiring and educational circles it mostly means one thing – career fair season. There are events everywhere put on by schools, community groups, and sometimes even by employers. A fair is easy to find, you only need to look online or in your local paper but getting satisfactory results can be a lot more difficult. You can already find a lot of info online to help prepare for a fair ahead of time. But we’ve come up with three easy, actionable tips so everyone involved with a career fair can find success while at the event.

Organizers

Door Prizes – Foot traffic is the name of the game for employer events. Prizes and giveaways can help a lot when it comes to getting people in the building for your event. Fewer prizes with bigger values will always be a bigger draw, even if it means you must give them away in a drawing or raffle.

Employer Maps – Students, alumni, and community members come to a career fair to find a job. Make it easy for them to find the kind of jobs for which they’re searching. The easiest way to do this is with a booth map showing where each employer is located and clearly calling out the skillsets/positions for which they’re hiring.

Walk Around – Surveys after the event can be helpful when planning for your next one but walking around during your event allows you to connect with employers and job seekers in real time. This gives you the best chance to put on a great event by ensuring you can tackle problems and questions immediately.

Employers

Make Jobs Obvious – Attendees at a career fair are looking for jobs. Make it easy for people with the right skills for the jobs you’re filling to find you. Hiring welders or drivers or office admins? Then say it clearly and specifically in your signage and table literature rather than something ambiguous like, “Now hiring for ALL positions.”

Use Images – A picture says a thousand words, so using a view pictures or videos can replace thousands of words in your signage. This saves money and space as well as simplifying your message and creating a neater overall booth appearance. Quality images also help you draw more ESL speakers or people that may not read well from a distance into your booth too.

Know Your Product – This may sound self-explanatory, but it is a frequent problem at career fairs. Companies often send out people that know their hiring process best, but those people don’t always know the day-to-day details of the work itself. Having an event team that can speak to the full employee experience (onboarding, compensation, benefits, daily work duties, etc.) goes a long way to generating interested candidates.

Job Seekers

Do Your Research – Some hiring events can get truly huge with hundreds of employers and thousands of job seekers. Showing up unprepared to such an event is a sure way to get overwhelmed quickly. To avoid this, do your homework first. Research employers on the internet ahead of time to create a list of target companies you want to connect with and to make sure you have questions ready for them once you do!

Take Notes – You can make a great many connections, and learn a lot of information, in a short time at a career fair. Don’t trust your memory to remember it all! Whether you take an actual notebook, take pictures and notes on your phone, or just jot down details on the back of business cards – writing down who said what and when will be extremely helpful for follow ups and actual interviews.

Make It a Game – The real benefit to a career fair for a job seeker is sheer volume. The more potential employers you talk to, the more likely you are to find the right opportunity for you. To capitalize on this, try incentivizing yourself to hit as many booths as possible. You can do so by pre-determining a “reward” for yourself if you speak with X number of employers or simply making a competition between friends to see who can connect with the most.

We hope you find this list helpful in getting the most out of the next employer event you attend. If it winds up leading you to your next career, you may want some additional help too. Remember, if you have ideas for things to do, or NOT to do, (or places and situations in which you shouldn’t do them) we’re happy to share those too! Just send them to our Writing Team and we’ll cover them in a future blog.

The second full week of February is recognized as National Secondhand Wardrobe Week. The intent of this observance is dedicated to encouraging people to shop secondhand and donate, or sell, old clothing rather than throw it away. The reasons behind this initiative are to support local thrift stores while helping people reduce the estimated 92 MILLION tons of textiles that end up in landfills every year. These are worthy goals by themselves, but I’d like to encourage you to observe this week for a different reason. I’m hoping you’ll clean out your closets for National Secondhand Wardrobe Week 2023 to help support the future of skilled trades.

Why Support the Skilled Trades

The skilled trades have opportunities for everybody in America. Regardless of your skills or experience, we have a professional home just waiting for you somewhere in construction, agriculture, or manufacturing. But these careers can go hand in hand with real barriers to entry. We’re most familiar hearing about these barriers when people talk about the skills gap that exists in our worldwide workforce today. However, things much simpler than skills can often prevent a person from pursuing work in the skilled trades. Most commonly, these areas include tools, boots, or specialty clothing required for employment.

Where to Donate

There are many groups and organizations that will collect donated clothing for specific purposes like cold weather (Salvation Army Coat Drives) or job interviews (Dress for Success). These are fantastic programs that do a lot of good, but they rarely focus on, or benefit, people in and around the trades. A number of programs are operating with a focus on shoes (Soles4Souls) and other footwear, (Samaritan’s Feet) while other organizations will provide new work boots (Charitable Union) to qualified applicants. Unfortunately, none of these options put a true emphasis on used work clothing or footwear aimed at people trying to get into the trades.

How You Can Help

By now you’re saying, “This is all great to know, but how can I help support the trades with my used work boots and clothes?” I’m so glad you asked because I have a solution!

I’d like you to consider the example of Darnel Royal and Work Boot Ministry. Darnel had an opportunity to give away a pair of work boots and went to social media to make it happen. In doing so, he uncovered a huge need and a mission. In about 4 years, Royal and his colleagues have donated 567 pairs of boots to support 567 different trades careers.

You can do the same thing, and you don’t have to be a local social media influencer like Darnel! My challenge to you is simple and can be accomplished in four easy steps.

Go through your closet and find any old clothes, boots, gloves, hats, outerwear, or specialty items that are fit for trades work (and still in good enough condition to donate).
Do a mental inventory of your network. Who do you know that’s connected to training programs, technical schools, shelters, workforce development centers, relevant employers, etc. (Hint: if the answer is nobody, a quick Google search and a phone call or two will change that quickly!)
Schedule a drop off and let them take things from there.
Repeat annually.

Pro-tip: If you’re willing to put up a post on social media and handle follow-up / delivery yourself, you can cut these four steps down to three.

Make a Difference In Your Community

Here at FlexTrades, it’s our intention to make a difference every day, in every way that we can. This is reflected in every one of our core values. It’s my sincere hope that this article inspires you to try to make a difference in your own community today while making it a little easier for you to do so too.

Would you like to read about other ways we try to make a difference? Check out our blog page today! Do you have ideas on how we can help? Send them to our Writing Team, and you might be reading about your idea in our next blog article.

Robots Aren’t Coming for Your Jobs

Have you heard about Industry 4.0? It’s the fourth industrial revolution. The first was about mechanization and happened in the 18th century. The second occurred during the 19th century and centered around electrification. The 20th century saw the third, which was all about computers. Now we’re in the 21st century and smack dab in the middle of the fourth industrial revolution. This revolution is about what are called cyber-physical systems – the convergence of machine and computer. Industry 4.0 is evidenced by automation, robotics, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), and the ongoing move towards “lights out” manufacturing.

Most of you have heard about Industry 4.0, you just don’t realize it. This is because most of what you’ve heard has been misrepresented. In general, talk about the fourth industrial revolution starts with, “The robots are coming to take our jobs!” Does that ring a bell? I’m here to tell you, that isn’t going to happen.

133 million Jobs Expected to be Created

We expect technology (like robots and larger automation processes) to eliminate a lot of jobs around the world. According to a oft-cited study conducted jointly by Hays and Oxford Economics, it can be expected that technology will “cull” 75 million jobs globally by the end of this decade. That’s an undeniably huge number, so why am I saying that the worries about robots taking jobs are being misrepresented? Because an even larger number mentioned in that same study never seems to get the same amount of attention. That number is 133 million, and it’s mentioned in reference to the number of jobs we expect to be CREATED by technology during that same time frame. That’s an almost 2:1 ratio and means that robots and technology are expected to create 100% more jobs than they eliminate worldwide!

Why People are Worried

Why, then, is everybody so worried about robots? In my opinion, it’s mostly because people inherently dislike change. Technology’s biggest benefit to industry (whether manufacturing, finance, retail, etc.) is to move the variable (in most cases, that’s the human element – you) further and further from where machine (mill, lathe, pen, phone call, point of sale, etc.) and material (metal, wood, receipt, service, etc.) meet. This is because that intersection is where errors, inefficiencies, and injuries happen most often. By moving that wild card (you), technology can help deliver better results while simultaneously making jobs safer.

Technology will Change Today’s Jobs

There’s a silver lining – technology is making our human jobs easier, safer, and more secure every day. So, what’s the bad news? It’s that technology will cause those same jobs to change continuously and consistently throughout a career. And that’s not going to change. This is also why a skills gap exists today. We have the jobs. We have the people to fill them. But those people don’t currently possess the skills needed to fill those jobs. The skills gap has led to a hiring shortfall of over 2 million people in American manufacturing alone!

Opportunities for Employers

What does this mean for you? If you’re an employer, it means that your workforce headaches aren’t going away anytime soon. FlexTrades can help with that, if needed. Visit our website to learn more about our manufacturing solutions.

Opportunities for Employees

If you’re an employee, this means that the robots are making more employment opportunities for you than ever before. McKinsey expects somewhere between 75 million and 375 million workers will eventually be “displaced” by technology. The sheer scale of opportunity for career advancement for workers worldwide is mind boggling when you think about it. You just need to keep growing your knowledge and skills, along with the technological advances of your industry, to ensure that you can benefit.

Already in manufacturing or the skilled trades? We could be a good employment option for you! Browse our jobs and bookmark our blog page.

Do you have a topic you’d like to learn more about? Send it to our Writing Team and we’ll try to cover it in a future blog.

Not Home for the Holidays

You don’t have to look hard during this time of year to realize the holidays are upon us. City streets are decorated, store windows are full of gift ideas, and seasonal music is omnipresent. For most of us, even if this isn’t our idea of ’the most wonderful time of the year,’ it’s a time of joy and nostalgia. But there’s a large portion of the population that the rest of us forget about during this season – those who can’t get home. While most are at home, millions of people around the world are working so that we can celebrate.

From flight attendants and emergency workers to our own FlexTrades technicians keeping the wheels of industry turning through seasonal spikes, there are a lot of people missing time with their families. We want all of you in that position to know we appreciate you a lot! But we also realize that all the recognition in the world doesn’t make such a sacrifice any less lonely. Therefore, we turned to our travel-work experts for some tips on how to make sure you don’t feel alone just because you’re spending this holiday away from home.

Holiday Tips for When You’re Away from Home

Communicate

The number one rule of family planning is communication and that goes double for holiday schedules. Once your shift is solidified, the first thing you should do is let your family know. There are a lot of ways to make alternate seasonal plans, but most are not very realistic at the last minute. It sounds simple, but often the best answers are exactly that. If you know you’re going to miss a party or tradition, talk about it asap. You’ll be surprised how creative your family can get.

Decorate

Whether you’re in an office or on the shop floor, you might not be able to go home for the holidays, but that doesn’t mean you can’t bring some of it to you. Christmas lights, a mini-tree, or a singing reindeer are easy ways to surround yourself with some seasonal items. You can even level-up this step into a simple group activity by involving coworkers or others with a ’project’ such as setting ten minutes aside for everybody to cut out a paper snowflake for their station. Do you have a cherished tree ornament at home? Bring it with you on the road so you’re not leaving all your nostalgia behind. Even wearing a work uniform doesn’t have to be a dealbreaker. If you can’t wear that Santa hat or Grinch shirt, try wearing a themed lanyard or safety glasses with decorated frames!

Technology

Technology can be a stressor in life, especially during the holidays, but it can also be a day (or even a season) saver. Video calling and messaging apps, like FaceTime, have already changed the roadwork experience for many FlexTrades technicians. You don’t have to be on the road to also benefit from these technologies though. Even if you’re just missing a New Year’s Eve party for a single shift, using FaceTime and a well-timed break can make sure you’re still there with the people that matter to you when the ball drops. There are lots of other technologies that can help with this too. One that we love is using the group watch function of your favorite streaming platform to share a classic holiday film with your friends and family, no matter where you all are around the globe! Using VR goggle could make it even more exciting but does require a few extra steps.

Redefine Family

Working over the holidays, especially on the road, can be a team effort. It could make sense to celebrate those holidays with your work team. Little things like group caroling competitions or gift exchanges can add a lot of fun to seasonal work. Those little things make it easier to focus on the big stuff too, like making sure your teammates know just how much you appreciate them. Shared appreciation is always a good thing!

Volunteer

Do you feel bad about something you’re missing this season? The best way to feel good is to do good. If you can’t make it home for the holidays, then do something to make where you’re at feel homier. Church groups, charitable associations, and community organizations put a big emphasis on holiday projects, and they can always use extra hands! There are many online platforms, like VolunteerMatch, that make it easy to find opportunities to help, no matter where you find yourself around America. A great side benefit to volunteering for the road warrior crowd is that it doubles as networking for the out-of-towner too. Doing good and meeting good people is a win/win in any season!

Other Ideas

We hope this list gives ideas of how to make the most of this holiday season away from home. If you have other tips, we’d love to hear them! Send them to our Writing Team. We’ll do our best to cover them in future posts.

Do you want to give yourself a gift that keeps on giving all year? Check out our blog page to catch up on other advice about working away from home.

FABTECH is the North American metal fabricating industry’s premier event every year. It is run in partnership by some of the biggest trade associations in the sector. The intent of the show is to bring buyers and sellers into a convenient venue to conduct business, make connections, share ideas, AND learn. The event occurs annually in the US rotating between Chicago, Atlanta, and Las Vegas. An identical event takes place in Mexico annually on a rotation between Monterrey and Mexico City. FABTECH Canada is a biennial event exclusive to Toronto. You can learn more about FABTECH at your convenience. FlexTrades was in Atlanta for the entire event last week. We wanted to share some of our biggest takeaways with you.

Automation

Lead times were such a giant part of so many conversations at FABTECH 2022 that they almost got their own place on this list. The concern with how to deal with long lead times from suppliers and reduce lead times for customers is one of many primary drivers for the prevalence of automation at FABTECH this year. From reducing injuries to improving workflows to increasing efficiency, it seems most exhibitors and attendees consider a robot or cobot to be at least a partial solution for their problems. Automation of every kind was on abundant display. This great highlight video does a fantastic job of showing you as many of them as possible in 90 seconds!

Sustainability

It’s no secret that consumer taste is changing. No longer is it enough to deliver the best product or the best price. The market has evolved. Manufacturers still need to deliver on quality and price point, but people buy for the story now too. At least part of that story has become focused on sustainability. Mainly, end users want to know how you’re improving the environment of your facility for employees and how you’re maintaining the environment for your communities and consumers. FABTECH 2022 taught us that producers who don’t already have a focus on sustainability need to develop one quickly or they’ll be left behind. Meanwhile, companies who have been early adopters of processes with an ESG and sustainability focus are already reaping the benefits.

Safety

We’ve been saying for years that today’s facilities are no longer our father’s’ factories. The image of the dark, dirty, dangerous facility that news reels from the 50s and 60s accustomed us to are just no longer accurate. That doesn’t mean our current workforce doesn’t want manufacturers to continue to move the line forward regarding safety. Filtration systems to improve air quality, lighting advances to improve visibility, lift assist systems of all kinds, and even drones to inspect confined spaces were evident in displays or conversations at FABTECH this year. This prevalence indicates that an improved safety focus is something that all generations currently represented in the workforce agree upon. COVID protocols and practices brought safety front of mind for all of us (finally), and that’s here to stay.

3D Printing

Recent studies tell us that a full third of manufacturers are putting additive manufacturing on their short lists for investment. FABTECH 2022 echoed these findings in a big way. Additive was everywhere across this year’s expo. There were new powders to create metals, new machines to layer them, and everything in between. This expo made a point of teaching the industry that additive processes are much more than just 3D printing these days.

Workforce

The lack of available talent in the skilled trades pipeline to manufacturing was as big a topic as it has been in recent years. That has traditionally been a huge driver for interest in automation. This year, especially among keynote speaker panels, we’ve heard a bigger emphasis placed on the role we play as employers in developing the workforce. These presentations are intended to make deciders across the industry aware that younger employees want the same things previous generations wanted. Millennial and Gen Z jobseekers are just willing to ask for it up front, and they’re capable of doing their own research to know if your competition is offering it. Panelist Will Healy III put it best when he said, “If you’re hiring a welder for $15 base rate and you offer full benefits but McDonalds down the street is hiring people for $15 base rate and full benefits AND a free cheeseburger at lunch – what you’re really competing with is a cheeseburger. You need to think differently and bring more to the table than the competition if you want to win.”

Next FABTECH

The next FABTECH happens in Mexico this coming March. But we don’t want you to wait until then to see and learn more! If you found this content interesting and informative, we put out new industry content all the time. Check out our YouTube page for yet to be released interviews we captured in Atlanta. You can always follow FlexTrades on your social media platform of choice or check out our blog page to make sure you don’t miss out. And, of course, if you have other ideas for topics you’d like to know more about, or questions for FlexTrades, just send them to our Writing Team and we’ll be happy to cover them in a future article or video.

This year, October 11 marks the 10th anniversary of the International Day of the Girl Child. The United Nations General Assembly declared this day by adopting Resolution 66/170 in 2011. The intention is to recognize the rights of girls around the world and bring awareness to the unique challenges they face daily. Much progress has been made globally in the last decade but the disparity, between boys and girls, in access to basic human rights is still shocking when you check the numbers.

How to get involved

The UN has several suggestions for activists and advocates who want to help the continued advancement of this movement. Among them are to engage government officials, public policy makers, key influencers across industries, and all other stakeholders to make more targeted investments to address inequalities experienced by girls everywhere. Another suggestion they make is to share human interest stories, blogs, and videos of girl change-makers to amplify their impact on others.

You can find more suggestions on UNICEF’s website or check out YouTube for stories about girl influencers such as Malala Yousafzai too. But, as a man in a family of mostly women, I’d like to recognize this day by sharing the story of the girl change-makers in my life with all of you. I hope reading this makes you want to publicly share a story of your own to recognize the powerful girls in your own life and to help grow this movement for them.

My Girls

I’ve written a blog before about the role my aunts and uncles played in my formation and the way becoming an uncle to my nieces changed my life. But I don’t mention in that article how my nieces have changed my perspective of what girls can do. Now, to be clear, I’m not a misogynistic person and I’ve never been accused of being one. I was raised in a family where my grandma, and then my mother, called most of the shots and it never felt strange or especially progressive to anybody. Many other families like ours were very similar. I learned early and often that all women are deserving of respect.

But growing up on a farm, I was always taught that I should do the “heavy, hard” things to spare my grandmother, mother, sister, and cousins (all girls) from the most physical of tasks. This attitude towards division of labor never seemed particularly biased to me until years after my childhood when my father started to age. As dad got older and his physical capabilities began to erode, I began to realize that he just couldn’t do some of the things I needed him to do anymore. Things came to a head one day when I needed help in the field and my dad couldn’t get out of bed, let alone into a skid steer. Luckily, my youngest niece was available and that became the first day she operated equipment solo. She was 7.

Since then, both of my nieces have learned how to use tools, pick sweetcorn, handle livestock, get the Christmas tree for grandma each year, and many other things I never expected them to need to learn.

Their abilities have been proven many more times over the years, especially in the last one. Since my dad passed away last October, I rely on them more than ever now. But they never cease to surprise me. Even when my mom’s mailbox was hit recently, they didn’t need me. Instead, they took care of grandma together.

Today, I no longer even ask my girls if they can do something. The concept that they can’t has completely left my consideration. Now, I simply ask them if they will do something and then I watch them do it even better than I can. Girls can do that, or so I’ve learned. It stopped surprising me years ago.

I hope you’ve learned more about International Day of the Girl Child, or at least been led to think about it, than you would have without this article. We’ve done blogs on other national and international days that you might like learning more about too. Check them out on our blog page. And, of course, if you have other resume tips or questions just send them to our Writing Team and we’ll be happy to cover them in a future article.

I’m a big advocate for the skilled trades in general, and manufacturing specifically. I spend a lot of time and energy to get in front of the next generation of our workforce at high schools, technical colleges, military reintegration units, and other vocational training programs around America. Whenever I’m lucky enough to be granted access to such a program, I obviously spend some time speaking about the opportunities to work at FlexTrades and passing along the tribal knowledge I’ve picked up over the decades that I’ve found to be critical to success in any industry. But I’m always surprised how much time I spend answering questions about the skilled trades themselves.

It reinforces to me how poorly those of us within the trades have marketed ourselves over the past half-century. But these questions are also an important reminder for me to remember that people outside of our industries don’t have the knowledge that insiders do. Because of this, it’s important to be able to speak to the basics – especially when talking to younger audiences. With this in mind, I’d like to share 10 of the questions I most commonly get about the trades (and how I answer them) with all of you.

1) I’m not mechanically inclined or into working with my hands. Is there an opportunity for me to work in the skilled trades?

There is an opportunity in the trades for everyone, regardless of what their natural aptitudes may be. First, being mechanically inclined is important but the continuing development of tools and technology make that less of a necessity every day. To be clear, you’ll still need to use tools to work in a hands-on position. I’m just saying those tools get easier to use well and require less expertise to do so all the time. This means the industry is trying to make itself more welcoming for all skill levels. But let’s say you are one of those people that just isn’t capable of that kind of work. There’s still a home for you in the trades! From sales to HR to project management to design to administration, trades-oriented companies need all the peripheral and support skills that any other company needs. Don’t ever forget that!

2) Do I need to go to college to work in the trades?

Plain and simple, no. This doesn’t mean you can’t, or shouldn’t, just that it’s not a requirement. Whether working in construction, agriculture, or manufacturing, I have worked with individuals who followed all possible paths to success. They may look different, but they lead to the same place. If school isn’t for you and you need to get to work, starting in an entry-level position with a company that provides lots of on-the-job training and plentiful advancement opportunities can be a great way to grow your career. If you have a passion for a particular trade or a firm idea of what path into trades work you want to follow, going to the right local vocational program can be a wonderful option to start. Maybe a four-year degree experience is what you want. That doesn’t mean we don’t need you in the trades! Business, communications, engineering, design, and management majors are just a few of the degree paths that are still much in demand at companies across the trades.

3) What is the best program to take to get a job in the trades?

The best program to take is the one that fits your interests, skills, and schedule the best. That’s the easy answer. The more complex answer is that it depends on where you’re from and where you’re going. This means that the same school can have programs that are much different when it comes to the quality of their training or the quality of their network. The network can be just as important as the training, because even the best training doesn’t do you much good if nobody is trying to hire graduates from your program. You should also keep this thought in mind when considering local demand for talent. If a school has a great welding program but your desired geographical area has few welding or fabrication shops, you may still struggle to get hired even with excellent skills. All of this means the more homework you do before selecting a program, the less hustling you’ll have to do to get hired after completing it.

4) I want to be an entrepreneur and run my own business. How does a goal like that fit in the trades?

In short, perfectly! There are well over 250,000 manufacturers, and close to 500,000 construction companies, in just the United States. The vast majority (well over 75% in any given year) are considered to be mid- or small-sized companies. More than half of them employ 20 people or less. This means that most companies employing tradespeople are technically small startups owned and operated by entrepreneurs, and most of them came to that place by starting in bottom rung roles not by pursuing a degree in entrepreneurship or significant amounts of venture capital first. All these numbers add up to one inescapable fact, there isn’t an industry that is more inclined to upward mobility or entrepreneurial growth than the skilled trades.

5) I don’t have many tools. How does a person start a skilled trade career without their own tools?

By working for a company that doesn’t require you to provide them. This may sound simple but that’s because it is. There are barriers to employment in any industry. The expense of tools can be a big one in the trades. But not every company requires you to provide your own and many that do will provide assistance with your purchases. Tools can be a complicator, but the right research can make sure they’re not a deal breaker.

6) I come from a small town without a lot of employment opportunities locally. How do I get started in the skilled trades?

Maybe you start your own company. Maybe you temporarily relocate to begin your career so you can start building experience. Or maybe you come work for FlexTrades. We have projects all around America where your skills are in demand. Whether you’re just starting your career, or well along your career path, we have opportunities for you. Almost all of our work requires travel, but you’ll never have to permanently relocate, and you can homebase from anywhere across the country. If this sounds like you, check out our available openings now!

7) Is it hard to start a career in the skilled trades?

No. People interested in starting are very much in demand and there are many ways in which they can begin. Entry level work with a local company, apprenticeship programs through companies or unions, associates degrees from vocational schools, condensed training programs, military service – all these paths can lead you to a successful career in the trades. You just need to pick the one that’s right for you and then stay on it!

8) Are there opportunities to grow my career once I get started in the trades?

Of course! Just like any company, there are many ways you can job up. Seniority can get you better pay or more responsibility at some companies. Continuing education or ongoing certification can help you advance at others. Experience alone can help push you up the ladder since knowing the ins and outs of a company often gives internal candidates a leg up on the competition when it comes to new openings and advancement opportunities. The only thing that really can hold your career growth back in the skilled trades is your personal ambition or creativity.

9) Will I make as much money as a “white collar” job?

Most likely? Yes! While top earners in any one trade may not make what top earners in certain “white collar” fields make (think surgeons compared to great welders) when talking about the “average” worker it’s not even close. There is too much variation in annual average and median incomes, based on location, for me to start quoting them now. What I’ll say is that, wherever you live around the US, do a quick internet search using these phrases “median (insert skilled trade of choice, such as Welder) income for (insert your local zip code) compared to other occupations”. I promise your results will be surprising.

10) What trade is most in-demand?

That answer varies significantly with geography. For example, injection-mold operators are a lot more likely to be in demand somewhere that has many aviation or automotive manufacturers because they do a lot of injection-molding. However, I tend to encourage people to pursue maintenance careers when they know they want to work in the trades but aren’t sure which trade. Why? Because no matter what changes occur with equipment we use or how we use it, somebody will always be needed to troubleshoot, maintain, and repair that equipment. Maintenance is a great trades career for a lot of reasons but job security like that is one of the big ones.

More FAQs

I hope you found value in this list and that you’re more prepared to advocate for careers in the skilled trades in the future. If you’d like more answers, check out our blog page to see other questions we’ve covered in the past. Got a question or answer of your own to share? We’d love to help you do that! Send them to our Writing Team and we’ll be happy to share them in a future blog.

The International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) occurs in Chicago every two years. It is normally one of the biggest events worldwide in all of manufacturing but, after a 4-year gap due to COVID concerns in 2020, this year was even bigger. IMTS 2022 didn’t just represent a symbolic return to “normal” for our industry or a chance to reconnect with friends and colleagues. Rather, it was a celebration of all we’ve missed in the last couple years AND everything new we get to look forward to in the years to come. FlexTrades was there last week, and we had so many amazing experiences, interactions, and takeaways that we can’t possibly share them all. However, we do have some highlights we want to make sure you didn’t miss.

By the numbers

IMTS, even for veteran attendees, is overwhelming. It takes up all McCormick Place, the largest convention center in North America, and an entire week of the calendar. The raw size and scale of the venue and exhibits creates a sense of shock and awe for first time attendees. Meanwhile, the sheer number of people creates not just a crowd but an energy that can be felt physically. A great way to start wrapping your mind around IMTS is to begin with the numbers.

2.6 million – Square feet of exhibit space utilized by vendors and conferences
1.3 million – Square feet taken up by display booths alone
86,307 – Total individuals who attended at least one day this year
33 – Number of times IMTS has been held in Chicago
2,000+ – Total exhibitors displaying products and solutions
117 – Number of countries with exhibitors or visitors in attendance
57 million – Total weight (in pounds) of equipment and material on display
9 – Number of pavilions featuring displays (each a trade show unto itself) for different specialties
12 – Total conferences occurring during the week
9 – Specialty attractions, including a demo of a JET SUIT!
Countless – Number of demonstrations, conversations, and ideas that occurred

By the images

Words can say a lot about IMTS, but pictures and videos say even more. Here are links to some from the Association of Manufacturing Technology (AMT), the host of IMTS, and FlexTrades.

T-minus two years

The star of IMTS 2022 was all of us, our excitement to reconnect, and our hunger to tell the stories of our industry like never before. The increase in media and content creators in attendance was noticeable this year. We expect that number to grow even more by the time IMTS 2024 arrives. But we don’t want you to wait years to see and learn more! If you found this content interesting and informative, we put out new industry content all the time. Follow FlexTrades on your social media platform of choice or check out our blog page to make sure you don’t miss out. And, of course, if you have other ideas for topics you’d like to know more about, or questions for FlexTrades, just send them to our Writing Team and we’ll be happy to cover them in a future article or video.

This week was National Payroll Week which is observed in recognition of all employees and the payroll professionals who pay them. These groups are put together because they collectively handle, report, contribute or otherwise touch 70% of the US Treasury’s annual revenue. Wow! In honor of the week, we asked our accounting department what they think your accounting department wants you to know. We learned 5 big things from them.

Regularly Review Your Pay Stub

This is not only to ensure your pay is accurate either. Things to review include other pay items such as deductions and taxes.

Please be sure to send any updates, changes, or information as soon as possible. There is processing time between when information is received to funds being paid, and this will help ensure timely inclusion in payroll.

Make Sure to Keep Them Updated

Please be sure to send any updates, changes or information as soon as possible. There is processing time between when information is received to funds being paid, and this will help ensure timely inclusion in payroll.

It’s Just Math

“Accountants aren’t any more qualified than you to divvy up the bill at a restaurant.” Bring a calculator and figure out the tip yourself. You’ve got this.

Fun Fact

The most common pay frequency in the U.S. is biweekly, which is used by 37 percent of private businesses. Surprisingly, weekly beats semimonthly as a runner-up at 32 percent.

More Tips & Tricks

I hope you found value in this list. If you’d like to learn more about your accounting department, give them a call or email and I bet you’ll be glad you did. If you’d like more lists check out our blog page to see more. Did we miss something about accounting that you’d like to share? We’d love to help you do that! Send to our Writing Team and we’ll be happy to share them in a future blog. Stay cool and be safe this summer!