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    Hiring job-jumpers: go find yourself a Boomeranger!

    May 11, 2017
    Another group of job-jumpers we should consider are the “boomerangers.” These are people who used to work for you and then got hired by someone else. Time passes, and you have a need for their skills again, so — like a boomerang — they come back.
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    Steve Swanson conducts a training course at Uponor; some of the students are job changers.

    How’s your crystal ball working? Don’t have a crystal ball? How about a genie lamp? No? Are you friends with a palm reader? What are your thoughts on tarot cards?

    Well, we better start finding some new tradespeople somehow, because 2018 is coming. That’s the year the Department of Labor reports we will be short 260,000 plumbers. It’s also the year we will be short 230,000 HVAC technicians. And every other trade is in exactly the same position.

    Unfortunately, we’re not addressing the problem fast enough. It’s already beginning to surface in areas with a lot of building growth. There simply aren’t enough tradespeople to be hired and, because of that, building projects are being lost or put on hold. Eventually, this lack of available tradespeople could literally stall whatever growth our country is experiencing.

    Like the funeral director who sold cremation urns said, “It’s time to start thinking outside the box.”

    So, to start, let’s take a little quiz.

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    About the Author

    Steve Swanson

    Steve Swanson is the customer trainer at Uponor Academy. He actively welcomes reader comments and can be reached at [email protected].

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