When we meet someone it is one of the first things we ask, “What do you do for a living?”
When high school students head toward graduation many Squamish parents push in the direction of university rather than toward a blue-collar career.
I can count on one hand the friends of my sons’ who have pursued trades. Most are off living in residence at a university.
Full disclosure, of my sons who are out of high school one works in retail, one is at Quest University and one is pursuing a trade – I am equally proud of each.
The truth is, we assign varying degrees of status depending on what career people choose. Gage your reaction if you discover Joe is a professor versus Joe is a roofer.
Being a reporter, I am lucky to meet people from many professions and walks of life. While the academics, politicians and business people have interesting and valuable things to say, without a doubt some of the most well-rounded, intelligent and engaging people are in the trades. What they do is so fascinating and so vital. Where would we be, after all, without well built houses, flushing toilets, properly placed pipelines carrying natural gas to our homes, roads, and the like?
And yet the myth is that trade jobs are somehow less mentally stimulating and are easier than say, being a lawyer.
As a person with academic degrees I can tell you spending five minutes in the middle of a construction site is all that is needed to see it takes a special kind of intelligence, efficiency with math, coordination and an ability to multitask to perform many trades jobs.
And in Squamish the need for people with trades training is increasing exponentially. With a plethora of residential and industry projects underway – the landfill expansion planned, businesses’ renovating and roads and parks being built out at Newport Beach and around the district – we need as many trades people as possible. And compared to many other careers these jobs are well paid and the future outlook is positive.
In terms of what our society needs, what could be more important or secure? We will always need places to live and brick-and-mortar businesses to frequent.
So when you ask what someone does or when recommending careers for youth, rank trades jobs as highly as they deserve, our community depends on it.
