Finishing series on work in the trades

Editor’s Note: This is the last of 12 columns on work in the trades which have appeared over the past 12 months on each “second Sunday.”

This is the last installment in the 12-part series on work in the trades that began in this space last September. In those months we’ve looked at the variety of vocations and settings available in this broad sector of work.

We’ve also examined ways of improving one’s career trajectory while working in the trades, including tips for negotiating the offer, creating resumes for this work, making use of professional associations and managing the layoffs that come with so many of these jobs.

In preparing for this series, I knew there would be “extra” column topics left over that I would wish I could somehow squeeze in. I’ve run out of road for that, but I can at least provide a synopsis on a few of those unwritten columns.

The changing face of the trades. While workers in the trades have been predominantly white, native-born and male, parts of that demographic have been shifting. As a result of increased outreach and training, more women and people of color are joining the trades, but not quickly enough to balance Baby Boomer retirements. For example, African Americans currently make up only 6% of the workers in construction trades, with women holding down only 3.4% of the jobs out in the field. One notable area of growth for women has been in construction management, where they comprise almost 8% of all workers holding that title.

Meanwhile, the use of immigrant labor in construction trades has increased to one in four workers nationally, with almost half of construction workers in some states being foreign-born. Ironically, the total number of immigrant construction workers is down about 200,000 from before the last recession – but their percentages in this work have increased, based on lower numbers of U.S. born workers entering the field.

Bottom line? The next time you walk past a construction site, chances are improving that it will be managed by a woman or staffed by a person of color. But it’s almost a certainty that the workforce will include people from Hispanic, European or Asian nations.

The impact of global events on trades occupations. It’s been a long time since we believed our economy was separate from that of other nations. Now we know that we are affected by everything from the weather to wars elsewhere in the world. And the effects are felt as deeply in our trades occupations as anywhere.

Developers don’t invest in new construction when the global economy feels uncertain; manufacturers can’t make as many products when parts and equipment are subject to increased tariffs; goods can’t be transported as easily when certain trade routes are under threat; U.S. factories and entire industries fold when similar products can be made more cheaply in other countries. Indeed, thanks to the power of a ripple effect, it doesn’t take a very big catalyst elsewhere to impact or even eliminate trades jobs here in the U.S.

Bottom line? Geo-political diplomacy and cultural savvy are more than niceties; they’ll likely be key to the survival and growth of U.S. jobs in the trades.

Technology’s hold on the trades. Where to start? I can remember when my husband the carpenter was issued his first pager. He looked like nothing less than a tagged bear to me, trackable and reachable when he had been used to complete autonomy in the field. Now of course he travels with a cell phone and a tablet computer, using multiple apps and a specially programmed stylus to sketch and modify construction drawings before sending them electronically to clients and colleagues alike.

Like every part of our lives, and every occupation, trades professions have become very dependent on technology. Indeed, some manufacturing processes are completely technologybased, relying on robotic arms and programmable equipment to operate.

Bottom line? You don’t need to be a tech-head to thrive in today’s trades, but neither will you manage to avoid technology altogether. The best strategy will be to embrace each tool and process one at a time, raising your comfort level with every lesson learned.

That’s a good place to leave this series, at least for the moment. Thanks to everyone who has offered comments, resources and questions. I hope these articles have shown the trades to be a wonderfully vibrant and varied vocational area, with opportunities available for nearly anyone.

To me, these are careers of optimism and strength, representing the building and rebuilding of our nation and the world.