Are you renovating or building?
While you are waiting for those quotations from Tradespeople you have contacted, some of whom might disappointingly not even turn up, you will get some that “over-quote” because they have too much work on.
It seems hardly fair on the consumer, but it does seem to be a fact of life now in many places.
Imagine accepting their “blown out of proportion” quote and getting them to start the job? Will they start on time? Will you be getting good value for your money? Surely not?
It appears difficult to find a Tradesman these days who is an expert in only one specialised field. Try finding a Carpenter or a Joiner – there is clearly a shortage of specialised tradespeople now that many of the skilled Baby Boomers have retired.
It is also a well known fact that we are not training enough tradesmen.
We are always going to need Tradespeople, Carpenters, Joiners, Plumbers and Electricians and many other skilled occupations.
The lack of skilled tradesmen has migrated from an emerging dilemma to an ongoing one it seems. There is also a lack of communication of the benefits of working in trades and the often lucrative pay scales associated with being an electrician, carpenter, plumber, welder, etc.
Without serious influence and changes to how we view and run education, this ongoing “skills gap” can only get worse
We are told that our potential skilled trades people start growing their aspirations at age 11 or 12. This happens when they are exposed to classes where they can see that they have strengths and competence. The realisation that of what they can do leads to the growth of ‘possible selves’ – the idea “ I could be a builder, or an Electrician, or even a Plumber and maybe I could even have my own business”
Building a future aspiration at this age is essential for the confidence that they can contribute later – particularly for those young people who have no role models of this in their lives. A sense of competence is key in developing self- belief and a critical forerunner of later career confidence – the desire to try something harder, believing that they might succeed. We should be throwing teachers and money at practical technology areas to expose more young people to an environment where they can see future possibilities for themselves.
Many of our young people are sometimes at risk in the 14-18 age groups because they haven’t developed aspirations or the sense that they could be good at something useful. Research tells us young people want to be useful.
The early years are critical so “Trades and workshop skills” should be valued and built up throughout the school system.
Australia’s top 50 most wanted tradespeople for 2020-2021 showed that qualified building trades featured in the top 8 most wanted.
So if you find a good tradesperson, hang on to them. They will probably not need to advertise as their best advertisement is by “word of mouth”.
They will also usually do the right thing by you …and even turn up on time when they say they will.
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