Carefree Truth
Issue #694, September 19, 2018
Bob Jenkins, the owner of VetsBuilt Contracting, which strives to hire veterans, spoke at Call to the Public. He heard Dr. Debbi Burdick speak about the opportunity for the Cave Creek Unified School District to join CTed, giving students access to education in the trades. This is an item on the November ballot. (Dr. Burdick's presentation will be the subject of next week's Carefree Truth issue.)
Issue #694, September 19, 2018
Bob Jenkins, the owner of VetsBuilt Contracting, which strives to hire veterans, spoke at Call to the Public. He heard Dr. Debbi Burdick speak about the opportunity for the Cave Creek Unified School District to join CTed, giving students access to education in the trades. This is an item on the November ballot. (Dr. Burdick's presentation will be the subject of next week's Carefree Truth issue.)
Photo by Herbert Hitchon
Mr. Jenkins said this is extremely important to everyone in the community. There is a desperate shortage of trades people and a desperate need for more of them as a society today. Skilled trade jobs are some of the hardest to fill. According to surveys, in 2015, half of all American trades people who perform repairs and maintenance were over the age of
42-1/2, and many of them were over their mid to late 40s. He sees a huge shortage of trades people in his work. If there is a lack of skilled trades people, everything would begin to crumble. Loss of infrastructure such as electricity, HVAC and water would put us "in the deep weeds very, very quickly" here in Arizona.
The highest paying trades have bright outlooks. The market for people with these skills is expected to be very large for decades to come. The biggest challenge is convincing parents that this leads to good jobs. The misconception is that those in the trades don't make as much money. He had to laugh at this. One of his contractors was on vacation with his family in Hawaii for a week, one was fly fishing in Montana, and another was sitting on the beach in San Diego. The average hourly wage for a construction manager is $49 an hour, with an annual income of $97,000. The top end of that is $76 an hour, $155,000 annually. Plumbers make $27-$44 an hour @ $57,000-$84,000 a year. Electricians make $27-$44 an hour @ $56,000-$90,000 a year.
The Washington Post noted that the labor shortage is creating challenges in finding qualified contractors for home repair. An unprecedented skilled labor shortage exists. PBS noted that after decades of pushing Bachelors degrees, the U.S. needs more trades people.
Mr. Jenkins again stressed that what Dr. Burdick was going to talk about is extremely important not only to his business but to everybody. "We need these people desperately." He is 63 years old, and the names he remembers in his life are his 8th grade shop/print teacher and his staff Sgt. at Marine boot camp. He said we need to start giving kids the opportunity to have these skills.
Councilman Gene Orrico said that Kiwanis gave out $250,000 in scholarships last year. Not one was for a trade school. The students were aware of the availability of these trade school scholarships, but no one applied. Mr. Jenkins felt that was a crime.
https://vimeo.com/293477437
Mayor Les Peterson spoke about Bob Jenkins' father, Lew, who was the keynote speaker at the 2017 Carefree Veteran's Day event. Lew Jenkins served at the Battle of the Bulge in WWII, in a unit that suffered an 85% casualty rare during that battle. As the Germans were retreating, his unit chased them. When they ran out of ammunition, they continued the chase, throwing rocks. The Mayor noted the Bob Jenkins "comes from good stock".
https://vimeo.com/294073128
(Lyn's note: Lew was amazing at last year's Veteran's Day event. He was 98 years old at the time. He spoke with passion and humor, barely glancing at his notes. This is the link to our report on Lew's speech.
http://carefreetruth2.com/carefree-truth-607.html
Here is the link to the video of Lew speaking.
https://vimeo.com/243164304
We were wowed by him.)
I am also attaching a podcast interview with Bob Jenkins that will air this Sunday. Bob volunteers with the Marine Corps/ Law Enforcement Foundation of Arizona. This nationwide organization is a primarily volunteer group, and over 90% of the money raised goes to the children of Marines and police who are killed in the line of duty. They hold an very successful annual golf tournament, but Bob is in the process of starting a Fishing Derby fundraiser. They are seeking big sponsors to help launch this fun family event.)
https://vimeo.com/296135152
Lyn Hitchon
Prepared by Carefree Truth
Visit our website at www.carefreetruth2.com If you know anyone who would like to be added to the Carefree Truth email list, please have them contact me. Feel free to share Carefree Truth with others on your list.
Visit www.carefreeazbusinesses.com to see more info about businesses in Carefree. Please support our merchants.
Mr. Jenkins said this is extremely important to everyone in the community. There is a desperate shortage of trades people and a desperate need for more of them as a society today. Skilled trade jobs are some of the hardest to fill. According to surveys, in 2015, half of all American trades people who perform repairs and maintenance were over the age of
42-1/2, and many of them were over their mid to late 40s. He sees a huge shortage of trades people in his work. If there is a lack of skilled trades people, everything would begin to crumble. Loss of infrastructure such as electricity, HVAC and water would put us "in the deep weeds very, very quickly" here in Arizona.
The highest paying trades have bright outlooks. The market for people with these skills is expected to be very large for decades to come. The biggest challenge is convincing parents that this leads to good jobs. The misconception is that those in the trades don't make as much money. He had to laugh at this. One of his contractors was on vacation with his family in Hawaii for a week, one was fly fishing in Montana, and another was sitting on the beach in San Diego. The average hourly wage for a construction manager is $49 an hour, with an annual income of $97,000. The top end of that is $76 an hour, $155,000 annually. Plumbers make $27-$44 an hour @ $57,000-$84,000 a year. Electricians make $27-$44 an hour @ $56,000-$90,000 a year.
The Washington Post noted that the labor shortage is creating challenges in finding qualified contractors for home repair. An unprecedented skilled labor shortage exists. PBS noted that after decades of pushing Bachelors degrees, the U.S. needs more trades people.
Mr. Jenkins again stressed that what Dr. Burdick was going to talk about is extremely important not only to his business but to everybody. "We need these people desperately." He is 63 years old, and the names he remembers in his life are his 8th grade shop/print teacher and his staff Sgt. at Marine boot camp. He said we need to start giving kids the opportunity to have these skills.
Councilman Gene Orrico said that Kiwanis gave out $250,000 in scholarships last year. Not one was for a trade school. The students were aware of the availability of these trade school scholarships, but no one applied. Mr. Jenkins felt that was a crime.
https://vimeo.com/293477437
Mayor Les Peterson spoke about Bob Jenkins' father, Lew, who was the keynote speaker at the 2017 Carefree Veteran's Day event. Lew Jenkins served at the Battle of the Bulge in WWII, in a unit that suffered an 85% casualty rare during that battle. As the Germans were retreating, his unit chased them. When they ran out of ammunition, they continued the chase, throwing rocks. The Mayor noted the Bob Jenkins "comes from good stock".
https://vimeo.com/294073128
(Lyn's note: Lew was amazing at last year's Veteran's Day event. He was 98 years old at the time. He spoke with passion and humor, barely glancing at his notes. This is the link to our report on Lew's speech.
http://carefreetruth2.com/carefree-truth-607.html
Here is the link to the video of Lew speaking.
https://vimeo.com/243164304
We were wowed by him.)
I am also attaching a podcast interview with Bob Jenkins that will air this Sunday. Bob volunteers with the Marine Corps/ Law Enforcement Foundation of Arizona. This nationwide organization is a primarily volunteer group, and over 90% of the money raised goes to the children of Marines and police who are killed in the line of duty. They hold an very successful annual golf tournament, but Bob is in the process of starting a Fishing Derby fundraiser. They are seeking big sponsors to help launch this fun family event.)
https://vimeo.com/296135152
Lyn Hitchon
Prepared by Carefree Truth
Visit our website at www.carefreetruth2.com If you know anyone who would like to be added to the Carefree Truth email list, please have them contact me. Feel free to share Carefree Truth with others on your list.
Visit www.carefreeazbusinesses.com to see more info about businesses in Carefree. Please support our merchants.