Stop Whining About the Labor Shortage—Your Shop Is the Problem
Executive Brief
The Gist: VS Construction’s Vinny Silva says the trades don’t need government handouts—they need contractors to stop treating entry-level workers like disposable labor and start building real career paths.
- The Trap: Keep blaming “kids these days” while your competitors poach talent by actually investing in people.
- The Play: Audit your onboarding process tomorrow—if you can’t explain a 3-year growth path to a new hire in under 5 minutes, you don’t have one.
Why This Matters to Your Business
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: Silva’s right, but not for the reasons everyone’s nodding along to. The “rebrand” conversation is a distraction. Your 22-year-old apprentice doesn’t care about trade school PR campaigns—he cares that your lead carpenter is a burned-out jerk who hasn’t taught him anything in six months.
I’ve watched remodeling shops lose three laborers in a year, then blame TikTok and participation trophies. Meanwhile, the contractor down the street keeps the same crew for five years because he pays for OSHA 30, sends guys to manufacturer training, and has a written promotion timeline. It’s not rocket science.
Silva mentions “competitive pay” like it’s optional. It’s not. If you’re paying $18/hour in a market where Costco starts at $19, you’re not competing for talent—you’re selecting for people with no other options. Then you wonder why they quit when Home Depot calls.
The apprenticeship funding he critiques? It’s mostly theater. I’ve seen contractors take the tax credits, stick a kid on a broom for 18 months, then act shocked when he leaves. Real apprenticeship means your best guy spends 20% of his week teaching, not just yelling from across the room. That costs margin. Most of you won’t do it.
Here’s what actually works: structured 90-day reviews, tool allowances that increase with tenure, and letting promising laborers run small punch-out crews by year two. The shops doing this aren’t posting “nobody wants to work” on Facebook—they’re too busy running jobs with stable crews. Silva built VS Construction this way. You can too, but it requires admitting your retention problem isn’t a PR issue—it’s a management issue.
Contractor FAQ
Q: Is this urgent?
A: Yes, if you’ve lost two or more people in the last 12 months. Your pipeline is broken and it’s getting worse as boomers retire.
Q: How does this affect my pricing?
A: Training costs 3-5% of labor burden upfront, but cuts turnover costs (recruiting, mistakes, schedule delays) by 15-20%. Net positive by month six if you don’t half-ass it.
Q: What is the long-term outlook?
A: Shops with documented training programs will command 10-15% higher billing rates by 2026 because clients will pay for crew stability. The “warm body” model is dead.
Source: Could the Trades Use a Rebrand?
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Author: Mike Warner
About the Founder Kore Komfort Solutions is an Army veteran-owned digital platform led by a 30-year veteran of the construction and remodeling trades. After three decades of swinging hammers and managing crews across the United States, I’ve shifted my focus from the job site to the back office. Our New Mission: To help residential contractors move from "chaos" to "profit." We provide honest, field-tested software reviews, operational playbooks, and insights into the AI revolution—empowering the next generation of trade business owners to build companies that last.