When a natural disaster hits our communities, we all feel it. Whether near the impact or across the country, you’re bound to see the harm that a natural disaster leaves in its path. From hurricanes to wildfires, you might feel helpless, wondering how you can aid and assist. You’re not alone, but a silver lining is that during each of these times, we’re reminded of the amazing people we work with and how great it is when a company can come together for the greater good.

What are some of the times that PeopleReady and our incredible associates have jumped at the opportunity to help?

• When Panama City felt devastation from Hurricane Michael, we saw buildings leveled and thousands of people losing their homes. Groups from surrounding branches—Fort Walton; Tallahassee; Dothan, Alabama; and Pensacola—gathered to make the trip to lend helping hands. The immediate and on-going relief came quickly after the rush of a storm and workers showed up in waves, ready to work together to rebuild.
• Upon Hurricane Florence, it was crucial for our branch staff to stay connected with their fellow PeopleReady employees, associates, and customers in the potential impact zone and tracked their safety throughout the storm. Communication and rates were coordinated with our Disaster & Recovery customers preparing for the hurricane and we quickly moved to activate our teams across the country to help get people to work as quickly as possible. We quickly set up customers with our mobile app, JobStack, to share work opportunities and approve associate pay on the go while getting workers paid as quickly as possible with pay cards, rush shipped to the affected areas.
• After Puerto Rico and Florida experienced the devastation following Hurricane Irma, our local team along with those in the New South and Mid-South regions moved quickly to reopen our branches and connect people with jobs to begin cleanup and recovery. Ensuring our associates safety was key – as was making sure they had access to work, even during these uncertain times.

As PeopleReady President, Sean Ebner shared about our associates and branch staff, “their safety and well-being and that of their loved ones is the top priority. Everything else is a distant second.” And we continue to stand by that as we prepare for the potential of more storms in the coming seasons. The only thing more powerful than a hurricane is the response to it—and we saw the country unite and “rise to the challenge of rebuilding.” During these times, our resilience was tested—but PeopleReady, from our recruiters to associates to leadership team unified to rise to the challenge and supported one another.

You might be thinking ahead of how you can help your neighbors around the country during these times. You could be planning for what you might do as a resident in one of these areas and what you can plan for. Whichever you relate to, PeopleReady is here to connect great associates with the work they want, the areas that need them, and with companies who will utilize their skills.

Over the next 10 years, one-third of skilled trades pros will retire at a faster rate than younger workers enter the field to replace them, leaving more than 3 million skilled trade jobs unfilled by 2028. To help close that gap, PeopleReady Skilled Trades proudly joins Generation T, a national movement reigniting interest in blue-collar careers.

Established by Lowe’s Home Improvement and partner organizations like PeopleReady Skilled Trades, Gen T is changing the way society perceives skilled trades by:

• Rallying a national audience to help promote or join the trades.
• Connecting people to jobs, apprenticeships, training, and trade-related programs in community colleges.
• Bringing shop classes back to target cities.

Our goal is to encourage more young people to choose a career in skilled trades by providing hands-on experience and training that exposes them to promising occupations for creative problem-solvers with valuable skills.

An entire sector of the economy can’t find enough qualified workers for the jobs waiting to be filled, projects waiting to be completed, and businesses waiting to be started. Nine out of 10 commercial construction contractors are having a difficult time finding skilled workers. And one in three professionals say they experience project delays because of the skilled trades shortage.

The shortage is already here.

Thousands of skilled pros retire every month. These are the trades masters who built our cities and communities: the carpenters, electricians, plumbers, welders, HVAC technicians, pipefitters, and others who dedicated years to their craft. Progress cannot continue without future generations of expert craftsmen and craftswomen to build and maintain the infrastructure we need to grow and prosper.

For years—especially since the Great Recession—America has focused on college degrees and white-collar careers over blue-collar careers. High schools closed shop classes and opened coding labs. Today, only 5% of parents of high school students anticipate their child will pursue a career in the skilled trades. Much of this is driven by a misconception that a career in the trades is not rewarding or doesn’t have the earning potential of a college degree. That’s not true: the lifetime earning potential for a journeyman electrician is $3.9 million, compared with $3.3 million for a four-year humanities degree.

How did we get here?

As an entry point to the skilled trades, PeopleReady Skilled Trades sees the need for this movement every day in every market we serve across the country. PeopleReady Skilled Trades has been connecting people with skilled trades work for 30 years and we haven’t seen the demand this high in a decade. We are eager to bring what we do to the Gen T movement: a way to try the trades. Someone interested in learning a trade can find work with PeopleReady Skilled Trades that puts them on a job site where they can gain on-the-job experience. From there, our skill development program, WorkUp, offers free online training in the major trades – from basic electrical skills to welding. WorkUp is being piloted in two regions with plans to introduce it in more regions soon.

To help launch Gen T, PeopleReady Skilled Trades pros are helping students try their hands at different trades during events around the country. And we are providing pros to help build shop classes at high schools so future generations of students have exposure to the trades.

If you are interested in helping create the next generation skilled trades I invite you to join PeopleReady Skilled Trades and the growing list of organizations taking part in the movement by taking the Generation T Pledge.

Representatives, legislators and key stakeholders gathered from June 24 through 28 in Washington D.C. for Legislative Week. An opportunity for members of the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) to connect with top administration and congressional leaders on issues that affect the construction industry, both on federal and state levels. The week’s focal point is Legislative Day.

ABC, a national construction industry trade association, represents more than 21,000 members. The organization aims to “develop people, win work and deliver that work safely, ethically and profitably for the betterment of the communities in which ABC and its members work.” Representing specialties within the nation’s construction industry, the association is joined by firms primarily in the industrial and commercial sectors. PeopleReady is a long term member and supporter of ABC and has over 30 staff members who participate on committees at the national and local chapter level.

Legislative Week culminates with a gathering of experts on legal and regulatory issues and potential forthcoming legal issues. During ABC’s Legal Conference industry attorneys will lend insights on employment and labor law, open competition, and address new developments.

PeopleReady Senior Vice President Shannon Kahn and National Sales Manager Allison Walters met with Arizona Representative Tom O’Halleran and other lawmakers to ensure PeopleReady’s alignment on objectives for the year. The PeopleReady representatives joined to encourage support for items critical to ABC members, educate Congress on issues affecting the construction industry, and serve as advocates for industry priorities.