The Blue-Collar Worker Crisis

An unprecedented shift is occurring in the employment trends of 2019; the demand for blue collar worker is growing. To serve as a quick refresher, blue collar workers consist of jobs like construction, maintenance, repair, agriculture, assembly, and material and freight handling (to name a few).

The declining trend in blue collar workers is attributed to the general stigma about the nature of the jobs themselves. The jobs are seen as super physical, menial tasks, with very little pay. More and more individuals are flocking towards increasingly specific fields centred around soft-skills, and blue-collar jobs are taking the backseat. Surprisingly, in a 2018 poll, 86% of blue collar workers stated a high level of job satisfaction.

However, it is not all bleak for recruiters; trends are beginning to shift as more incoming workers are forgoing expensive 4-year degrees for vocational training. Blue collar jobs are quickly becoming more attractive for people entering the job market, with on-site training, flexible hours, more autonomy on the job and other attractive benefits like health care, as well as improved pay.

Closing the Skills Gap

After learning of the importance of tackling the blue-collar crises, it is the recruiter’s job to be extremely proactive. So, for recruiters everywhere, the first step lies in assessing the current skill requirement in the company.

To ensure that you are hiring the cream of the crop, and to increase their retention rate, there are several steps you should incorporate into your business:

·      Clear communication

 While the recruitment process is occurring, talk clearly about pay-scale, benefits, as well as job progression in the company. This can help you go a long way to establish trust between you and any new potential employee.

·      Offer training opportunities

This can really help boost your retention rate of blue #-collar workers and allay their fears of no career progression or expectations about purely menial scale of work.

·      Empower and engage employees

Providing future hires with more than just a salary statement and a list of things to do. This can be achieved by introducing them to the company’s vision and long-term goals. By doing so, a sense of community is developed.

 Involve them in meetings to provide insider information about the workplace/ production process and make them feel like their voices are heard.

·      Give positive feedback and invest in appropriate rewards

Be sure to express satisfaction with your employees on a daily basis. This can help workers get more out of their job than just a pay-check and improve their overall job satisfaction.

Blue collar workers remain essential to the smooth functioning of an organisation. Keeping them gainfully employed and satisfied is something that companies should heavily focus on thier training.

Prudential can helps you for your organization for Blue Collar staff Training Need Identification. For FREE Corporate Training Advisory & TNA; Email us at trainings@www.prudsol.com