I’m not talking about the election. I’m talking about the hand off that’s taking place right now between one generation and another in the building trades. I’m talking about the boomers getting out and the millennials getting in. 

Believe it or not, but if you’re a millennial or Gen Zer, you are at an ideal point in time to take advantage of the job market in the construction industry. There are countless opportunities for the ambitious and enterprising person.

If you like action, activity and are bored by desk jobs or by looking at a screen, or If you’re handy and like to build things, either with your hands or your mind, there is a huge generational shift taking place right now in the building industry. 

Why? Because the boomer generation is retiring. Someone’s got to be the builders of tomorrow. That might as well be you. 

Especially if you enjoy getting things done and creating something tangible, something where you can look back at the end of the day and say, “I did that. I helped to build that.” Whether it’s a home, a bridge or a school, builders are always needed. So now is your moment!

If you enjoy the work, it’s a rewarding career. No two days are alike. You work in a variety of locations. There’s always a new challenge. Change is a constant.

I encourage you to jump in as soon as you can because the boomers are checking out and they’re taking lifetimes of experience with them. As a young builder, you’ll want to soak up as much of that knowledge as you can while it’s still available. 

For my boomer peers in the industry, some of you have embraced hiring the next generation of trades. Yet some of you have said you have no intention or interest in doing so, that you’re not interested in training or teaching. And that’s a shame for a few reasons. 

1. We were all taught by someone or we wouldn’t be where we are today. So pay it forward. 

2. While we have the trade wisdom and knowledge, the next generation has the tech knowledge. We need to teach them what we know. And we need their tech know how to stay current.

3. If you have chosen not to have young people in your company who might have an interest in owning it someday, then pretty much your only exit strategy is to either keep working until you can’t anymore, or shut it down and liquidate it. Unfortunately, either way, you’re leaving a lot of value on the table. That's value that could provide a better retirement for you and your family.

4. Lastly, not only are you shortchanging yourself by choosing not to train/teach/educate the upcoming generation, you're also shortchanging our industry and your community.

So we need to build a bridge between the generations to hand off and transfer knowledge, expertise and reasoning from the older generation to the younger ones.

Back to my millennial friends, even if you don’t have any experience, take a crack at it. While YouTube is a great resource, becoming a builder by working with an experienced builder is still the best way to learn.

Everyone in the trades starts out knowing very little about it. How do you break in then? It’s pretty simple.

If you see a building site, stop in the field office and see if they’re hiring laborers or helpers. If you’re a hard worker who pays attention to what’s going on around you, then it's very likely that you'll advance quickly. Hell, first of all, they'll just be impressed by the fact that you had the gumption to knock on the door.

Or you can do what I did when I was breaking into the trades. Start calling up contractors, especially ones whose work you like, and ask if they’re hiring. If they have the time, explain why you’re enthusiastically interested in working for them. 

If they’re not hiring, ask if they know anyone who is. The chances are excellent that someone they know is looking for good people to hire. Why? Because construction companies are always looking for good people, especially young people, especially right now. If they still say no, that they don’t need anyone right now, ask if you can keep checking back. If they say yes, ask when would be a good time to call back. Be persistent!

Derek Shue, my successor at the company I co-founded, Giffin & Crane General Contractors, applied 6 times before we hired him. His persistence paid off! Now he’s one of the owners. 

That could be you someday!