FINDING TOMORROWS ROOFING CRAFTSMEN

FINDING TOMORROWS ROOFING CRAFTSMEN

I wrote this question down a while ago although I can’t remember where I posted it: "Finding trained, qualified labor is a problem but roofing is hard work. How do you suggest we attract young people to learn the roofing trade?"

Face it we are all going to die someday. Who is going to replace us? Not just in our business but it's a probelm in the entire industry. We have a pool of people that know how to run a business to draw from but there is no real school that teaches the nuances of installing a great roof, (I suppose there are a few trade schools out there and individual manufacturer training) but just for the basics). How do you learn to make a handmade copper flashing or how to remove and replace a piece of slate or how to install a skylight the right way? We need an apprentice to pass our craft on to.

So again, how do we attract people to pick roofing as a way of life? It’s not glamorous and it’s really hard work. Sometimes we discourage our offspring from following in our steps to protect them from a life of sunburns and sore backs.   That could almost be a separate topic, but is it OK for your kids to not get a degree and do manual labor for a living? Frankly, raising a responsible person and a hard worker should make any parent as proud as having a college diploma. It’s those same qualities that you are proud of your graduate for, only without the dirt. Both contribute, one just may be book smart the other may practice a craft.

Should we go to the high schools at graduation time with a brochure? Showing roofers living the dream? Like “The Few, The Proud, The Marines”, we should have a slogan to recruit roofers. “Work Really Hard, Protect our Homes, Be a Roofing Craftsmen”.

Come to think of it, after writing this blog I think I have answered my own question. I don’t know if there is really anything we can do. I think being a roofer comes from within. Maybe you are lead to the life of "views from above".  That person has to want to create something out of materials, enjoy the weather elements and need a feeling of accomplishment. That person has to be really tough and work hard. I don’t think you can train for that. Maybe you need to be Born A Roofer.