Joshua Siler is CEO of HiringThing, a modern recruiting PaaS that enables seamless hiring with integrated applicant tracking.
Data shows that skilled trades jobs experienced double-digit growth in 2022, making it ripe with opportunities for those joining the workforce. But despite these upwardly trending numbers, many skilled trades industries face hiring challenges. For example, 80% of construction companies need help recruiting. In fact, for the past six years, they’ve cited hiring as their number one business challenge.
Skilled trades include trade occupations requiring specific training and/or certifications but typically not a college degree. While the terms “skilled trades” or “skilled labor” cover a wide breadth of work, they’re most commonly associated with the manufacturing or construction fields. However, the Bureau of Labor Statistics considers other roles like home health aides or application software developers to be skilled trades workers.
At HiringThing, we partner with a number of software companies that serve skilled trades, so I’ve seen up close the hiring and recruiting strategies needed to best attract these workers. Here are some of the best tips and tricks for finding talent in this unique field.
Showcase Flexibility
According to a study by Snagajob, nearly 36% of hourly workers—who make up a significant portion of skilled labor roles—reported that flexibility was the most critical work perk. But only around 50% of employers offer meaningful job flexibility.
Traditionally, skilled labor jobs have had set shifts, days, times and tasks, but slowly that’s starting to change. As the demand for workers grows, many skilled trades employers are realizing that current and potential talent are leaving for more flexible jobs. This is especially true of younger generations, which prioritize having control over their work hours more than older workers.
While the nature of skilled trades roles often means they can’t be as flexible as, say, an accountant who can work remotely, savvy employers are getting creative with split shifts, transparent scheduling, flexible PTO or just more leniency with breaks.
When recruiting, advertise your flexibility and demonstrate it in real time during your hiring process by giving candidates options for interview modalities and when they take place. This will help ensure potential talent knows you’re committed to providing a work environment they value.
Be People-Centric
In today’s competitive recruiting landscape, you must make the hiring process easy and enjoyable for candidates. However, there’s often a discrepancy between what companies and employees think that means. For example, around 74% of construction companies say workers can easily attend their interviews, but more than half of job candidates disagree. Consult former and current job seekers when making your application process people-centric.
To be people-centric, treat candidates as people and not assets or commodities. It’s all about meeting them where they are, which includes how they can apply to open positions. For instance, 79% of job seekers utilize social media as part of their job search, and nearly 70% of them do so on mobile devices. So having a people-centric hiring process would include having mobile-friendly applications.
Beyond the application process, how you engage with candidates must center on their experience. Provide clear communication to every candidate. This includes showcasing your company benefits, highlighting your safety standards and discussing professional growth opportunities.
Make Hiring Quick
While this overlaps with being people-centric, a speedy hiring process is so important that it deserves particular focus.
Today’s job candidates have been groomed by our technologically advanced world; whether it’s their streaming service of choice or applying for a job, they want things quick, easy and efficient. About one in five candidates cite long hiring processes as a significant job search challenge, and 92% don’t even finish online applications due to length or complexity.
So do everything you can to make your hiring process fast. Limit the steps it takes to complete an application, and keep the interview process at a length that respects candidates’ time. Remember: The best talent is applying for multiple jobs, and these people will move fast to accept offers.
Utilize Technology
Technology is designed to make our lives easier, yet many skilled trades sectors are infamous for being slow adopters. Digitizing hiring makes it faster, more dynamic and more people-centric, and it gives companies a competitive advantage. A digitized hiring process also sends the message that you’re a technologically forward organization, which today’s job seekers want. For example, digital technology is the number one skill that today’s construction workers want to acquire on the job.
According to a study by BCG, 60% of company leaders intended to increase digital tech investments in 2023 to counter current economic pressures. However, it’s key to ensure you’re investing in technology that works well and is tailored to your industry. Of 2,000 senior executives surveyed, nearly half don’t feel their organizations are getting significant value from the tech currently employed.
Connect With Younger Workers
Skilled trades jobs are struggling to connect with younger generations. The application rate for young people seeking technical jobs like plumbing, HVAC, construction and electric work dropped 49% between 2020 and 2022. Compounded with Baby Boomers starting to retire, connecting with younger workers is essential for the skilled trades.
This is where some education is needed. Skilled trades often get a bad reputation for having low wages, long hours and no real room for advancement, but that’s not the reality. In fact, job satisfaction is remarkably high in the skilled trades, with 83% of tradespeople either somewhat or extremely satisfied with their career choice. So be sure you’re promoting the perks of the job and high satisfaction rate in the job posts, recruitment marketing and interview process.
Always Be Recruiting, Even When You’re Not
One mistake we’ve seen skilled trades make is to only recruit when they have a big project or need labor. Forward-thinking organizations will be more proactive with recruiting, developing an employer brand that attracts candidates and hiring from within to promote engagement and company morale. Recruiting is cyclical, and developing a pool of quality candidates prepares you for whenever you need to hire.
Recruiting for skilled trades may seem daunting. But with the right strategy and mindset, you can find quality candidates and set your organization up for success.
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