If there were ever a time to be educating workers it is today. Why? First, most observers of our public education system claim our kids are not getting the education that they were twenty to forty years ago. Second, more of our workers are coming from non-agriculture backgrounds where many workers in the past were schooled on the basics of mechanics and fixing things. Third, a greater percentage of our construction workers will be retiring over the next 3-5 years per our own government statistics on the aging workforce. Fourth, it is even more costly to find the "right" employee in today's increase of poor performers who may have been laid off from other companies.

When I challenge contractors about the need for educating their workers to their tasks, roles, and how to be more professional in their conduct I often get back, "I don't have time to train." My response to that is...you don't have time not to train. Briefly, consider how many days you may not have your guys working due to inclement weather? For many contractors that might add up to 2, 4, 6, even more days a year. Some, if not all, of these days could be used for training. The problem isn't that we don't have time for training but rather we are not prepared to train!

Commit today to educate your workers. Take just one task that most of your workers may be struggling with such as the proper handling of material or how to operate a piece of equipment. Might even be the proper pre-work maintenance checks on tools and equipment. Whatever it might be gather your thoughts, write down a few notes, and on the next rainy day spend 1-3 hours training your folks on the needed skill.

Educating your workers is actually quite inexpensive if you are reading for it! Get ready!