Assessing The Trade Skills Gap – Electrician Careers

Imagine an America where trade skills industry professionals such as electricians, plumbers and HVAC technicians are scarce. The majority of workers in the industry have retired, and there are not enough excited young people lining up to fill newly vacant positions. This unfortunate situation hurts the trade industry business, its consumers and the economy.

Knowing that electricians, plumbers and HVAC professionals provide essential services to maintain a high quality, comfortable, everyday life, a few people pay unimaginably expensive prices for these services. Other people resort to DIY work out of desperation, causing more problems and further damage to the bottom lines of trade industry businesses across the country.

Surely this could never happen in America, a country that values hard work. A country that values a diverse work force. The reality is that this is beginning to happen now. Careercast.com ranked electrician as one of the best jobs to work without a four-year college degree. According to the report, the annual median salary for electricians is $49,840, and there is 20% projected hiring outlook, yet CBS news reports there are three million skilled trade jobs waiting to be filled. There needs to be a drastic change in the narrative regarding the role America’s youth play in the work force. If not, this problem called the skills gap will be the death of the trade industry.

The trade skills gap is a hot topic amongst economists, businessmen and politicians. There is a lot of debate surrounding exactly what the skills gap means for certain industries, but for the electric industry it means too many young people with four-year degrees and no vocational skills needed to work as an electrician. How did this happen?

Mister Sparky believes the trade skills gap now present in the trade industry is the after effect of a report called A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform released in 1983 by President Ronald Reagan’s National Commission on Excellence in Education. This report led to wide spread reform in public schools across the country, intensifying curriculum to better prepare students for college, according to the National Education Association (NEA). Over 20 years later, trade jobs are viewed as less prestigious or roles reserved for the unintelligent.

However, no matter how educated America becomes, it still needs people working in the trade industry to thrive. America is a well-oiled machine that needs all types of people in its work force to make it the best it can be. Mister Sparky Houston recognizes this and is working diligently to fight the skills gap through community outreach and apprenticeship opportunities. Fighting the skills gap is an uphill battle, but the team at Mister Sparky Houston is committed to doing its part to help.

Mister Sparky Electrician Houston, America’s On-Time Electrician, serves Houston, Texas and the cities of Katy, Sugar Land, Cypress, Spring, The Woodlands and others with a team of certified electricians. In addition to emergency electrical repairs, some of the electrician services provided by the company include electrical outlet/switch repair, ceiling fan installation, lighting installation, wiring repair, landscape lighting installation and home electrical inspections.