As an industrial electrician of 30 years now, our department can't even find a qualified candidate to fill the four open spots we have. They tried hiring some out of the military because of cost sharing programs, but they couldn't even wire up a starter, motor, program or edit plc programs, hot wire a starter coil, etc....
They are also dangerous, so they cannot work alone on shift. Most manufacturing plants keep one electrician on shift at a time. That means you must work alone and know exactly what you are doing and what the hazards may be. Such people are becoming very scarce.
Duh.......Generic Gen X/Y/Z.............
“As an industrial electrician of 30 years now, our department can’t even find a qualified candidate to fill the four open spots we have.”
Companies used to train people. They rarely do anymore. They expect the perfect person with exactly the perfect qualifications to magically appear somehow.
Mike Rowe is right - a lot of kids going to college to drop out or get a useless degree would be better off getting a job in the skilled trades - trained faster and paid better.