Most people think the key to a successful career begins with a four year degree. While a college education is a great start for many people, the long term effect of that preconception has been a serious depletion of younger workers into the skilled trades. Now, for every four tradesmen set to retire in the next few years, there’s only one in the training pipeline. That means the industry is about to be hit hard by a supply/demand ratio that will drive up the cost of labor and create serious logjams in construction queues.

Skilled labor jobs on construction sites are typically considered hot, demanding, dirty and potentially unsafe. On top of that, the 2008 U.S. recession hit the construction industry hard, stirring up ongoing negative press about the lack of jobs in the industry. What has been largely lost in that conversation is the fact that skilled jobs remain in high demand and that demand will only increase.