The job of recruiting people into the skilled trades of electrical, HVAC and plumbing has never been easy. What business owners could count on, however, were legacy workers. Those were apprentices and technicians that learned the skilled trades from their parents, who learned from their parents and so on.
But today, it’s become a serious challenge for business owners to attract new hires into the skilled trades. Not only is it difficult to interest people with no background in the trades to a career as an electrician, HVAC technician, or plumber, but fewer young adults are following their parents, uncle, or grandparents in the trades.
How come? There are a number of reasons and most of them are built upon misconceptions.
That is why there is hope. NexTech Academy has tips, tools and ways you can improve your technician recruitment retention efforts. By confronting misconceptions you can sway young adults with compelling reasons.
Know the advantages of a career in the skilled trades.
A great place for business owners to begin improving their recruitment efforts is with SkillsUSA. It’s a fantastic site that aims to improve the quality of our nation’s future skilled workforce. Their vision is to produce the most highly skilled workforce in the world, providing every member the opportunity for career success.
Another good place to turn is ExploreTheTrades.Org. Their mission is to recruit talented individuals to the plumbing, heating, cooling and electrical trades. At Explore The Trades, they help people discover that electrical, HVAC and plumbing careers aren’t just a choice – they’re the best choice.
Both of these sites can arm you with a perspective and compelling information that you can use to persuade prospects. Not only are they a resource for business owners in the skilled trades, but they are also good for candidates. Encourage your prospects to visit these pages, too, and learn all they can about building a career in the skilled trades.
Show prospects they have what it takes for a vocational career.
Sometimes a prospect’s biggest concern is an assumed lack of mechanical aptitude. This can be especially true if the person has little to no prior experience working with tools, let alone electrical, HVAC, or plumbing systems. But there is a way you can prove to them, and yourself, that a prospect has what it takes.
NexTech Academy provides interested applicants with the Bennett Mechanical Comprehension Test. It’s a handy resource for testing mechanical aptitude. This test can help identify candidates with good mechanical reasoning abilities and if someone may be a good fit for a technician position within your company.
The Nexstar Network has your back with technician recruitment.
You are not alone in your recruitment efforts. As a member of the Nexstar Network, you have numerous recruiting resources and advantages at your disposal.
Not only can you receive additional information about a career in the trades that you can pass along to candidates, but you’ll also have access to scholarships. You can use these scholarships to entice prospects into pursuing the trades as a career by further lessening their training costs.
Nexstar Network also has exclusive insider recruitment tips for business owners as well as the ability to post job openings to Nexstarjobs.com. This is the job board top electrical, HVAC and plumbing technicians look to for the best career opportunities.
The preferred vocational technician training available bar none.
As a Nexstar Network member, you have one additional benefit that may trump all others, and make your opportunity a must for prospects—NexTech Academy.
Only employees of Nexstar Network member companies can enroll with NexTech Academy. And that’s a big deal. When compared to traditional vocational training programs, NexTech Academy wins across the board.
The online vocational training program from NexTech Academy is self-paced. That means students can study and learn on their own schedule, at their own pace and anywhere they choose. There are no classrooms to get to or schedules to meet. Students make learning work on their terms.
Not only is this approach more flexible and appreciated by students, it dramatically accelerates learning. In fact, NexTech Academy students complete their electrical, HVAC or plumbing courses work in half the time of traditional programs. Just 18 to 24 months is all it takes.
Even more compelling, training with NexTech Academy is far more affordable, with no enrollment cost and monthly student fees of $99.
While learning with NexTech Academy is online, it’s all built for the real world. So along with interactive tutorials, all students will also take part in hands-on skills assessment ensuring both a cognitive understanding of the required skills along with the physical ability to utilize them as taught.
Despite the faster completion time, comprehensive curriculum and the lower price, NexTech Academy is perhaps the most comprehensive vocational training program available. Its curriculum covers hard skills, soft skills and the role physical and mental health plays in technician success. NexTech Academy truly arms electrical, HVAC and plumbing technicians with everything they’ll need to succeed for their first day in the field and beyond.
Recruit, retain and succeed with NexTech Academy.
Business owners know recruitment is tough. But, when you arm yourself with the right information, strong supporting resources, implement the top advice and include the best available vocational skills training from NexTech Academy, your offer becomes very hard to resist.
Use this blog to get your recruitment efforts started. And use this same advice to bolster your retention efforts, too. Existing employees will also be interested in expanding their skill sets so they can advance in their careers. Make your business better by focusing on the people, understanding their needs, and showing how your business can address them. Beyond the resources and web pages we’ve mentioned above, we also encourage you and interested candidates to visit NexTech Academy to learn more about the student experience and program. You or aspiring apprentices can also get started or call us at (651) 426-2000.
