Will Sampson talks about how woodworking businesses can work to solve the ongoing skills gap. Then he interviews Kelly Victor-Burke, majority owner and CEO of Burke Architectural Millwork and Bespoke Closets in Livonia, Michigan. She was instrumental in creating a new national apprenticeship program for the woodworking industry, and she has also been recently appointed by the federal Department of Labor as an Apprenticeship Ambassador.
This episode of the Woodworking Network podcast was sponsored by the Executive Briefing Conference. It’s really easy for woodworkers to stay stuck inside, focused on their shops and production. But over the last couple of years, the pandemic has forced them be even more isolated than usual. And it’s even harder if what you want is to network with the top-level executives in the industry. Where and how can you do that? The answer is the Executive Briefing Conference coming this September at the spectacular Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. This is an unparalleled opportunity to boost your business with intelligence on techniques, tools, and technology and to feed on inspiration from real leaders in the industry. Not to mention take in all the high-altitude hospitality, beauty and recreation offered by the Broadmoor. Learn more at ExecutiveBriefingConference.com. See you there.
Woodworking Network is a home for professional woodworkers, presenting technology, supplies, education, inspiration, and community, from small business entrepreneurs to corporate managers at large automated plants.
You can find all of our podcasts at WoodworkingNetwork.com/podcasts and in popular podcast channels. Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss an episode. Thanks again to today’s sponsor, Wood Pro Expo. If you have a comment or topic you’d like us to explore, contact me at will.sampson@woodworkingnetwork.com. And we would really appreciate it if you fill out the survey at woodworking network.com/podcast-survey. Thanks for listening.
Intro music courtesy of Anthony Monson.
Solving the skills gap
“We can’t find anyone to hire.” I hear that all the time. Business owners say they have plenty of work, plenty of customer demand, but they can’t find the employees with the skills and motivation to do the work. Then the discussion usually devolves into a highly speculative and often political discussion of why that his. People point fingers at schools, government, politicians, and the business owners and workers themselves.
I’m much less interested in casting blame than I am in trying to solve the problem. The way I approach that is to find companies who are NOT having trouble finding and keeping good workers to meet the high customer demand for their products. While complaints about hiring good workers seem to be everywhere, there are a few companies who claim to have plenty of good applicants. What makes them different? Are they just unicorns, impossible fantasy creatures, that don’t really exist? No, they are very real, and they do exist, but from what I’ve seen, they combine a mix of practices and exist in a work environment that is all too uncommon.
Inside these unusual operations, you’ll see competitive pay and benefits at the higher end of the spectrum. You’ll see team building efforts and in-house training designed to grow workers’ skills. You’ll also see opportunities to reach outside of the business for even more training and skills. That means frequent connections with trade schools, community colleges, universities, and even high school woodshops to support those programs and attract the best young workers. They are active in industry associations and lobbying for programs to address these issues. You’ll also see active community involvement that includes charitable work and community service that might have nothing to do with woodworking or business, but it has everything to do with raising the company’s profile in the community and region where it works and making those companies highly desirable places to work.
So, right about now, you’re saying, “Fine for them, but we don’t have any of those resources. We don’t have woodworking schools to draw from. We can’t afford to pay such high wages to draw workers from other industries. We don’t have time to be active in the community.”
This is when you need to look in the mirror, ask yourself hard questions, and take responsibility for being the change you want to happen. Have you ever talked to educators to see how you could help grow existing programs or help create new ones? What training programs and opportunities do you offer inside your operation? Is there a clear path to growth for new hires? How can you find a way to pay for really competitive salaries and benefits? Are there benefits you can offer that are no-cost or low-cost such as flexible working hours along with activities and practices that remind workers you care about them, their families, their communities, and their futures.
Back in the late 1960s and early 1970s, I used to listen to an alternative radio newscaster named Scoop Nisker. While legendary newscaster Walter Cronkite always signed off with, “And that’s the way it is,” Scoop Nisker admonished his listeners, “If you don’t like the news, go out and make some of your own.”
On that note, I want to get to our interview with Kelly Victor-Burke talking about creating an apprenticeship program, but first let’s pause for a word from our sponsor.
It’s really easy for woodworkers to stay stuck inside, focused on their shops and production. But over the last couple of years, the pandemic has forced them be even more isolated than usual. And it’s even harder if what you want is to network with the top-level executives in the industry. Where and how can you do that? The answer is the Executive Briefing Conference coming this September at the spectacular Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. This is an unparalleled opportunity to boost your business with intelligence on techniques, tools, and technology and to feed on inspiration from real leaders in the industry. Not to mention take in all the high-altitude hospitality, beauty and recreation offered by the Broadmoor. Learn more at ExecutiveBriefingConference.com. See you there.