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I am the construction supervisor for a restoration company in Oakville Ontario (outside of Toronto). There is a very real shortage of skilled trades here right now. Does anyone out there in Breaktimeland know a good web site to hire skilled workers or another method of hiring. We are a none union shop. I have tried suppliers, newspaper ads and even colleges to hire graduating apprentices. We pay decent wages and provide a truck and tools. No luck. I would appreciate any suggestions.
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Replies
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Dave,
You do the same as any other successful construction company...you hire them away from other companies who don't pay.
Skilled carpenters should be paid 35.00 per hour in your area. What are you offering?
Gabe
*Gabe,
View Image"The first step towards vice is to shroud innocent actions in mystery, and whoever likes to conceal something sooner or later has reason to conceal it." Aristotle
*Hi Joe,That would be Canadian.Apples to apples is always hard to quantify when it comes to wages. Every area has a different cost of living, mainly due to housing, so 30 bucks in one area would be great and bare minimum in another.Here in Ottawa the union halls are still near the empty mark so the demand stays high. We have not experienced any problems with shortages.Gabe
*Seems to me that the same old rule applies; pay peanuts, get monkeys. If everybody in your area pays peanuts, then nearly all the people that actually aren't monkeys tend to work like monkeys anyway, possibly out of spite. Or at least it comes across as being that way in this part of the world, US gulf coast. Top wages round here for woodworkers in general appears to hover around the US$15-$17 per hour mark from what I can tell. I suspect it's also not as cheap to live around here as it's perceived to be by non-residents. Just another comment. None of the previous perhaps helps your cause, but I thought I'd mention it anyway. ;-) Slainte, RJ.
*i agree with gabe: hire them away from other companies. but you need to do more than pay, you need to care. until recently we ran a family operation for nearly a hundred years and some of our guys were with us since i was a kid and i'm 40 now. my dad was a compassionate caretaker.. of both the business and people. some of these people could have made more $ elsewhere.. ( and some did leave for more $) but most stayed because they felt a part of something, they were the company in a large sense and we always let them know it.
*Dave, I sympathize with you, I used to have a historic millwork company in Burlington. I turned down lots of work due lack of skilled help available. I became a woodworking teacher to help replenish the work force from the high school level. It seems parents still believe the real money is made being a doctor or a lawyer until I showed them what top-notch tradesman make.
*Maybe RK could help. Sounds like you need some networking!! :-)
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I am the construction supervisor for a restoration company in Oakville Ontario (outside of Toronto). There is a very real shortage of skilled trades here right now. Does anyone out there in Breaktimeland know a good web site to hire skilled workers or another method of hiring. We are a none union shop. I have tried suppliers, newspaper ads and even colleges to hire graduating apprentices. We pay decent wages and provide a truck and tools. No luck. I would appreciate any suggestions.