September 3, 7: Seasoned executives and sales people are always scarce, but the shortage of traditional skilled trades — cooks, electricians, mechanics and carpenters — is a national problem that shows no sign of easing. Of the 10 jobs business owners found hardest to fill, the most serious gap was in trades — ranking ahead of engineers, teachers and nurses. Meanwhile, in guidance offices and family dining rooms, the song remains the same: Why Next 36 matters for all Canadian entrepreneurs.

Never mind that a plumber making house calls bills more per hour than you do: Canadians are turning their backs on skilled trades.

So how do businesses prepare for this crisis? If they are serious about solving the skilled worker shortage, year-old Adrian Schut says, the solution is obvious: Fight for programs, such as co-op work terms, that give young people more hands-on experience in the fields they like. Push back against an education establishment that assumes the best and brightest must go to university. Schut is a recent graduate of Almonte High in Almonte, Ont.

Schut, however, happens to enjoy being outside and working with his hands, and found school an ordeal. Growing up on a hobby farm, he learned carpentry skills at an early age. For after-school fun, he took up robotics.

In high school, he regularly scored marks in the 90s, even though he often got carried away with the mobile robots he was building and forgot to go to class. Last year, Schut returned to skills competitions — this time in carpentry. He rounded up a four-person team that was given two days to turn a pile of materials into a shed with a floor, door, windows, electrical wiring and a shingled roof.

His team finished first in Ontario. Yet he feels fully satisfied doing the wood work for new homes: His goal is to combine his love of building with his passion for robots.

He intends to identify the most hazardous tasks in construction — such as working high atop ladders or finishing steep industrial roofs — and build robots to do those jobs.

To get that kind of productivity, Hollman works with his team at jobsites, teaching them all he knows, reinforcing their work ethic, and encouraging them to learn from each other. He saves his paperwork for the evenings. He scolds employers for tolerating workers who take no pride in their work.

Rick Spence is a writer, consultant and speaker specializing in entrepreneurship. His column appears weekly in the. He can be reached at rick rickspence. Your account has been reactivated. You must verify your email address before signing in. Check your email for your verification email, or enter your email address in the form below to resend the email.

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