Tips On Retaining Workers
By: Todd Hawkins, IEC Atlanta/ GA Associate Executive Director of Workforce Development
Recently, I attended the IEC National Business Summit in Savannah Georgia. The conference offered many presentations on Workforce Hiring and Development. One of the many points that I took away is that we all need to work together to get more people into the Electrical Construction industry. As the number of available qualified and capable electricians dwindle it is imperative to attract, hire and then retain as many people that are willing to join this great industry.
Several items are key to retaining the next generation of electricians, and yes, you probably heard this before:
- Hire quickly – when contractors receive an application review it quickly and get in touch with the interested person. Shoot for 24-48 hours from the time you receive the inquiry, otherwise, the candidate has probably moved on to another prospective employer.
- Look to diverse populations to fill your hiring needs. Diverse populations help increase the total talent pool from which to choose your next employee.
- Use the IEC Out of Work List – IEC staff continues to seek and attract applicants to the IEC Apprenticeship Program. These are people that are actively seeking careers in Electrical Construction. Let’s engage them quickly to see if they are right for your job openings.
- Ladder helps IEC contractors find experienced electricians and they currently have over 2000 individual candidates seeking employment with IEC members.
Working together, IEC Members and Staff have the opportunity increase hiring of individuals that are actively seeking employment, electrical training and the status of IEC Electrician.