Tradies are struggling to recruit staff
Everyone is commenting that it's really hard to hire within the construction industry right now. A few issues are contributing to the difficulty of hiring tradies to work for you:
Firstly there is a major skills shortage. Thankfully the government is paying great incentives for taking on apprentices, which will put us in a better position to have more skilled workers in about 3 or 4 years. But what about now?
Secondly, the goal of almost every tradie leaving TAFE is to have their own business. There are so many sole traders out there, working for themselves in the construction industry, without the skills to run a business. Consumer experience of tradies has become tainted because many of the tradies they reach out to don't answer their phones, they forget to send the quote, they turn up but they don't know to provide compliance certificates, and often simply don't have the business finesse that consumers expect these days. Then the tradies that are great at running a business, put great systems in place, present themselves well, are committed to compliance, and communicate really well ... are struggling to find tradies to work for them because the market is full of tradies wanting to work for themselves, rather than work for a company that truly looks after the customers and their team.
Don't get me wrong, there are also many sole traders out there that are doing a wonderful job and have decided to work for themselves to enjoy the flexibility of working when and where they choose. But the point I'm making is that there are less and less tradies willing to have a "job" rather than a "business".
As a result, trade business owners must find ways to stand out as employers, and find ways to reach potential team members in effective ways to attract the best candidates.
We have been working with various trade businesses on recruiting staff. It's really exciting when we find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, and place someone who is a perfect fit. But it's hard work and often it's trial and error for a while.
Here are some of our tips for recruiting for your trade business:
Create a job ad that stands out, and make sure you highlight what sets you apart from other businesses.
Continually advertise: keep a permanent listing on job boards so that you can capture that perfect candidate at the time they happen to be looking for work.
Offer above award rates, and great incentives such as a fully stocked vehicle
Offer additional training to position staff as experts in their trade
Check references thoroughly
Consider taking an apprentice: it's a huge investment of time, but there are great financial incentives, and you can teach/train the apprentice with your high quality techniques right from the start
If you need some support in this area, ask Behind the Boots about our recruitment services, we would love to help you grow your team!