A labor market conundrum: Skilled and high-paying blue-collar jobs go unfilled

Re:A labor market conundrum: Skilled and high-paying blue-co... by afuchs on Wednesday July 05, 2017 @05:37PM (#14706334)

> I asked, as any sane person would, something along the lines of "why isn't everyone and his dog laying bricks?". And the reply was very intriguing. He said essentially that younger people these days (my age) don't want to lay bricks every day now, or don't have the stamina. They want to go on their phones and become world-famous and important and work on new gizmos and apps every day and be looked at by everyone and be payed attention to, etc, etc.

This sounds too familiar, like an employer talking about how they can't find anyone while plenty of unemployed or underemployed workers are willing to do the job.

There are plenty of people out there willing to this type of work, especially if the pay is that good.

Where are these jobs, and how does one get them?

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Re:A labor market conundrum: Skilled and high-paying blue-co... by zucchini_head on Thursday July 06, 2017 @04:42AM (#14708948)

It's about willing to do the job good, and not just for the money I think.

But anyway, I think that maybe my above story is all just gobblewash. Overnight, I was thinking about how all these jobs that pay a lot for rather low-skill labour are all related to real-estate. Wood and bricks are what makes houses. I wonder if the good pay comes from that, rather than not many people wanting to do it.

Regardless, it's the opinion now quite a few of these labourers hold now - that the younger generation aren't able to do what they do. Maybe that's a little short-sighted, maybe it's on to something wrong with the future generations, maybe it's just wrong. Who knows.

[ Parent | on HN ]