Is he willing to train people?
What I would do instead of putting an ad in help wanted, I would put an ad asking for people willing to learn the trade.
Instead of the standard interview, I would give them an aptitude test.
Layout the basic tools and ask them to perform the task.
If they have natural aptitude it will be obvious.
What you look for next is their attitude and enthusiasm for the work.
I'm sure there are many people who have mechanical aptitude but they aren't being given an opportunity to prove themselves.
Trade schools are good but they likely attract 'people looking for a job' rather than people willing to prove their worth.
My grandfather, a skilled machinist, worked through the Depression pouring and shaving Babbitt bearings for tractor engines - a skilled job. Sometimes he had to work overtime. He had to sneak home at night into his own house so that his neighbors, many out of work, wouldn’t resent him.
I wish he would have taught me that skill. The few people who can still do it make big bucks.
A guy who owned a one-man welding shop told me about welding skills: “You won’t ever get rich, but you won’t starve either”.
Great idea, and I am not sure he has done that.
I’ll ask him when I see him again.