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Plumber welding pipe
Perishable skills
Apr 16, 2018
While the industry is focused on attracting and retaining new blood, and rightly so, aptitude for the trade cannot be given a back seat.
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How to survive the boom economy of 2018
Jan 12, 2018
Sometimes it good to reflect, to take stock of the past year, and contemplate just where we are, what we did that worked, what didn’t and what we can do to make this year better.
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Here’s an obvious labor pool
Dec 13, 2017
While we have been collectively opining, worrying and wringing our hands about the absolute lack of available manpower entering the trades, events outside anyone’s control have seemingly brought the issue national attention.
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Adapting in small shops, small towns
Oct 16, 2017
Many trade publications, including this one, tailor their content to a broad trade audience. . What is sometimes lacking in these publications is the perspective that most of the trade is embodied in small shops across the country.
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Future shock — are you ready?
Sep 11, 2017
Bob Dylan wrote “The Times They Are A-Changin’” back in 1964, and boy did they ever?! Of course, ol’ Bob was referring to the political winds, but he was onto something.
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Politics and progress
Jul 11, 2017
On June 12, 2017, the federal government on national TV, announced a full frontal assault on the skills gap and the lack of...
New labor force, new approach
New labor force, new approach
Jun 13, 2017
Some pundits say that the industry, or industries, must change their approach to hiring and training Millennials ...
Adapting for survival; what do you do when nothing is working
Apr 01, 2011
It is becoming more difficult to find topics for this column that point to an upbeat outlook for our current economic malaise. I'm not telling you anything that you don't already know when I say work and job prospects, across the board, are in the...
Diversification is key to building business
Aug 01, 2009
The plumbing/pipefitting/HVAC industry is broad based. There are as many types of businesses as there are facets of the trade. They range from the one-man residential service shop to the large commercial industrial companies, employing hundreds of...