EoW September 2009

The work world

Even in a downturn, American employers struggle to fill openings for skilled workers Cianbro Corp (Pittsfield, Maine) is in the business of heavy general commercial and industrial construction and manage- ment. Just as the recession began in the US, a company manager set out to hire 80 experienced welders. “Only now, 18 months later,” wrote Louis Uchitelle of the New York Times, “is he completing the roster.” This was offered as an illustration of something easily overlooked in the standard employment data published by Washington DC. Yes, the unemployment rate in the US is at 9.4%, the highest level in nearly 30 years, but companies are begging for qualified applicants for jobs requiring skills – like welding – that take years to attain. (“Despite Recession, High Demand for Skilled Labour,” 24 th June) Electrical lineman, particularly with skill in stringing high-voltage wires across the landscape, is another occupation in which openings are going unfilled. Geotechnical engineers, trained in geology as well as engineering, are also in demand. With infrastructure spending now on the rise, so are civil engineers to supervise the work. “Not newly graduated civil engineers,” Larry Jacobson, executive director of the National Society of Professional Engineers, asserted. “What’s missing are enough licensed professionals who have worked at least five years under experienced engineers before taking the licensing exam.” Chris McGrary, the Cianbro manager, made it clear to the Times what his company means by ‘experienced.’ Cianbro conducted plenty of interviews, only to have many of the applicants falter at the welding test. It was discovered that only those with ten years of experience – and not even all of them – could produce a perfect weld: one without flaws, even in an X-ray. Those who could, if they fit the bill otherwise, were snapped up within a day or two. Mr Uchitelle perceives a common denominator with these ❈ ❈ hard-to-fill jobs that would appear to hold significance for the post-recession US. Employers are looking for people who have acquired an exacting skill, first through education – often just high school vocational training – and then by gaining mastery on the job. But the academic sociologist Richard Sennett told the Times that this trajectory, requiring years, is no longer so easy in America. “The pressure to earn a bachelor’s degree draws young people away from occupational training,” said Mr Sennett. He cited two additional factors prejudicial to apprentice training: outsourcing interrupts employment before a skill is fully developed; and, layoffs undermine dedication to a single occupation. Said Mr Sennett, “People are told they can’t get back to work unless they retrain for a new skill.”

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EuroWire – September 2009