The skilled labor shortage stands as one of the biggest issues businesses face today. Manufacturers need welders and cannot find them. Construction companies seek skilled electricians, and are fighting one another tooth and nail to obtain them. Machine shops are turning away jobs because they lack operators to fill the need. This is the reality. Most experts agree it will not get better any time soon.

The statistics show it clearly. There are far more positions open for skilled trades professionals than there are capable workers to fill them, and the gap only widens. Baby boomers retire at increasingly higher levels, and millennial and Gen Z populations do not yet match the deficit filled by younger workers entering these fields. Several high schools eliminated their shop classes long ago. As a result, businesses far and wide seek what actually works.

However, many companies thrive substantially amidst this disparity. They possess the means to keep operations moving regardless of other businesses struggling to find warm bodies. This is not a question of luck or checkbook size, but instead, a level of understanding that brings successful companies into a new realm of what’s possible.

Recognizing What’s Really Happening

For most businesses looking at this situation, the problem is clear: there are not enough skilled workers out there. This, in part, is true. However, the larger issue at play here is a disconnect of thoughts, assumptions and operations that new, skilled trades employment requires these days.

In years past, you could post a position for an experienced machinist and receive a hundred applicants begging for the job within a week. Nowadays, journeymen laborers can put their job postings up and watch them sit there for a month with minimal activity.

Those truly with skills are already employed and more than likely happy where they are; they’re not perusing Indeed or LinkedIn waiting for job offers nor are they spending their nights applying for positions. Instead, they’re getting calls and DMs at an alarming rate because employers want them.

Timing becomes an issue, too. When someone takes their long-beloved position elsewhere, say your best welder moves to another plant, or a maintenance tech finally retires after years of service, work doesn’t stop. Jobs still have deadlines. Customers still have due dates for delivery. Waiting four months to find the right permanent fit becomes way more expensive than anticipated when people run the numbers.

Why the Old Way Doesn’t Work

The old way of hiring was based on the idea that candidates would be everywhere and anyone worth hiring could get their foot into any door. In skilled trades today, you need to convince someone actively engaged at another plant to make the change. This is a whole different game.

Compensation helps; skilled trades professionals know their worth (and rightly so) and should be compensated handsomely for providing said capabilities. However, salary is not the all-encompassing factor; people look for an entire package, what’s the environment like? Will there be an appropriate schedule? Is there room for growth? Will good equipment be provided? Will new skills be granted? If two companies are nearly neck-and-neck with salary offers but one presents a better all-around approach, that person will often take that one.

There’s also the matter of certifying someone’s worthiness; any person can apply for a position by stating he has five years of welding experience, but do they have the certified qualifications required for your projects? Can they handle the materials with which you work? Will their work meet the standards necessary? A bad hire fast becomes highly expensive in this situation as their mistakes eat up time and materials that could have otherwise been avoided.

Because the consequences of a poor hire are so significant, employers are increasingly moving away from relying solely on resumes or self-reported experience. Instead, they are often adopting tools that define required skills and compare them against a candidate’s actual profile. For example, an ai skill gap analysis tool can be used to outline the specific skills, certifications, and proficiency levels needed for a role and identify where gaps may exist. This approach supports more informed hiring decisions and helps reduce mismatches that lead to rework, delays, and unnecessary costs.

What’s Actually Working for Companies Now

Those at the forefront solving this issue operate on multiple fronts, and it works.

Some companies cultivate relationships with trade schools and apprenticeship opportunities, essentially creating their own pipelines for future growth. This may take time to pay off actively, but it helps reduce long-term shortages over years while fostering authentic loyalty. When someone learns their trade in your company, chances are they will stay since you invested in them from the ground up.

Other companies rethink how they staff operations completely. Not every role needs to be permanent and full-time. For project-based work, temporary seasons or when someone unexpectedly calls out, many businesses have realized that skilled trades staffing companies facilitate skilled labor to provide connected services exactly when needed most. Companies seeing their workload fluctuate appreciate not having to keep everybody on payroll during down seasons.

What’s even smarter about such organizations is their attention to retaining employees they already have; things like fair pay and honest supervisors are important in making sure they’re no longer constantly replacing roles with which they’re struggling. Retention is just as much a factor as acquisition these days, meaning with good, experienced trades people operating under good circumstances, there’s no reason to replace anyone consistently.

The Flexibility Factor

One thing that changed substantially: what’s considered a “good hire” is no longer based on whether someone will remain for 20 years in one position; now, access to qualified talent for however long you need, three months or three years, is worth more than mere permanency.

This makes sense based on how businesses operate these days. Manufacturing orders go up and down; construction projects require different specialists throughout the planning stages; maintenance teams may need increased personnel when substantial shutdowns occur, but not all year round! When you’re stuck in one rigid approach to staffing, you’re either overindulged (and overcost) or perpetually short-staffed, and neither option is attractive.

The quickest adapting companies build what can be referred to as “hybrid workforces.” They maintain a solid base of permanent employees who truly know the business and onboard skilled professionals as projects arise based on need, this is not an attempt to replace good-paying jobs, but instead match the workforce to what’s actually happening while still maintaining quality.

Getting Ahead Instead of Just Responding

The most progressive companies understand that going solely by reactionary measures regarding shortages is no longer appropriate; now planning ahead makes all the difference as educated guesses months in advance do wonders when coupled with reliable connections and systematic access to get them up and running quickly.

Cross-training has become essential too; when your maintenance electrician knows how to do instrumentation basics or your welders can read prints and perform layout work, you’re better equipped when certain positions fall short of qualified workers. Investing in your current team’s skillset helps pay off immensely during labor shortages.

Technology has provided solutions where once companies never thought advancements would be applicable; project management has drastically improved based on software available to chart workforce need; communication platforms keep everyone on the same page even if they’re not present daily within one building; even training has improved as virtual reality welding simulators allow companies a chance to see someone’s skill before they touch materials.

Taking A Broader Outlook

The skilled labor shortage shows no signs of alleviation any time soon; just based on demographics alone, as well as supply and demand, companies utilizing traditional means of staffing will continue to struggle.

But here lies the positive spin, not having enough resources does not have to mean doom and gloom; those businesses thriving currently have decided that labor markets fundamentally shifted, and so must they.

They diversified how they attract talent, built flexibility into their plans, stopped relying on outdated approaches that no longer worked with shifts in paradigm, and while yes, acknowledging the shortage is real, the solutions are real too.

Companies willing to transform their thoughts about skilled labor from permanent staff supplemented by flexible access to specialized talent; putting equal stock into keeping people as finding new ones instead; planning ahead instead of scrambling at the last minute need not only survive, the solutions they’ve implemented help them thrive.

The question is not whether qualified tradespeople exist, they do, but whether your strategy for finding and keeping them aligns with what’s currently going on in the industry marketplace.

For those companies getting it right, even amidst the turmoil, the skilled labor shortage issue stands as much as a challenge but also an opportunity thanks to competitive advantages that will help them in time in years to come, even after things level out naturally again at some point down the road.

Jane