Blue Collar respect

guest commentary by Jim Kolettis, director of marketing and sales at Mahar Manufacturing. Kolettis can be reached at [email protected]

I respect college and the people who go but, for some reason our society has a hard time accepting that it simply isn’t for everyone.

For years kids have been pushed by guidance counselors, teachers, parents, and yes, society, out of high school and into college, even while they went kicking and screaming. They have been told that if they don’t go to college they will fail. I am tired of watching them go off to schools with no direction, no interest, and start feeling worse about themselves; all this while accumulating huge amounts of debt from the loans they or their parents take out to pay for college.

I know I have just alienated all of my Liberal friends, but you need to wake-up and realize that the middle class is the blue collar worker. Everybody keeps complaining about jobs leaving this country, but ask those same people who are complaining how many of them want their children to be plumbers or welders or auto mechanics or bricklayers or factory workers, etc.

I want more people to think about the alternatives and realize that you can be proud about going into a trade. This is a choice and you can feel good about yourself for deciding to pursue a career in one of the blue-collar sectors.

Blue collar workers own homes, run businesses, and have families. They are looking to be challenged and to exceed their own expectations. They want to excel professionally. But, they love working with their hands or in trades that aren’t in traditional offices. How many people are sitting behind a desk right now, tucked away in their cubicle, feeling boxed in and miserable, wishing they could be working with their hands, doing something physical instead?

Working a blue collar job isn’t just about being grubby, dirt bags. On the contrary, blue collar workers are everywhere and they are working so incredibly hard to build the country, rebuild their communities and more. We’ve got factory workers operating equipment worth more than my house and technical skills that surpass the level of expertise that many people have in white collar jobs.

But we’re still not ready to take these tradesmen and tradeswomen seriously?

It’s about time we respect the skills they’ve acquired and the trades they are in and the work they do. We’ve treated many of these industries as if they are invisible, but it’s time to start paying attention to the construction industry, to the automotive technicians, to the welders, and to the electricians.

People who can produce or fix things often have the greatest job security. The work involved in blue collar jobs is done on site with human hands and as marvelous as the accomplishments of technology have been, the ability to replace that involvement probably won’t come in our lifetimes, or even many lifetimes to come. I have a friend whose son left college to train to be a diesel mechanic and he absolutely did the right thing. Not only is he making an above average income, but he has far greater employment security than most other careers in the past few years. Even though I have a college education myself, I would advise teenagers to at least consider following the same course.

In the blue collar world, a high percentage of skilled craftsmen don’t go through a formal apprentice program, they start as helpers or machine operators. In the job interview, the interviewer isn’t interested in which college you attended, they are interested in your work ethics, level of ambition and the ability to follow instructions. In other words, they are looking for positive self-esteem. This is the type of person who will adapt easily to the company’s needs.

Once on the job, the unskilled have opportunity to work with skilled craftsmen and gain experience. Opportunity for advancement is based on the desire to learn, which is based on knowing how to learn. There are always tasks between unskilled and skilled. The aggressive worker can fill that void and, in time, become a qualified craftsman.

Note the following excerpt from “Sam Walton: Made in America.”

“Wal-Mart stores managers, in the early years, were high school dropouts. Sam Walton was not concerned about education levels, in fact, college educated people did not look for jobs in small towns where he first established his stores. Needing talented employees, he judged a success personality by:
Love for the retail business
Natural talent
Positive self-esteem
Creative, intuitive
Risk taker

By giving employees responsibility, Mr. Walton had the opportunity to discover winning personalities and promote the best. These qualifications do not show up on employment application forms, in fact, applicants may not know they have them.”

Taking a plunge into a blue collar profession fits the true definition of “retooling.” But sometimes you have to take a step back to go forward.

Who might consider entering a blue collar field?
• Young people facing the decision to enter a college degree program they really can’t afford and the student loan debt burden which will inevitably follow.
• 20-somethings who may have a college degree, but are finding few employment prospects.
• People over 30 who have lost their jobs and see little chance of re-employment in the same field.

It’s time to restore pride in the skilled trades; you know the engine that keeps America running.