Leveraging industry connections to boost your training pipeline

MCS Influencer Jon Olson says your network becomes your competitive advantage to expand your training capabilites.

Ask any contractor right now what keeps them up at night, and you’ll likely hear the same thing: finding and keeping skilled people. Industry wide, the pipeline of skilled workers coming into the field is not keeping up with demand. But the real challenge isn’t just hiring — it's developing talent fast enough to keep jobs moving. That’s where your network becomes more than just contacts, it becomes your competitive advantage. When used the right way, your industry connections can help you expand your training capabilities and improve your pool of potential future employees. Let’s look at a few ways to leverage your network to grow your training pipeline: 

Who is in your network?  

Teachers, recruiters, current employees, manufactures… the list goes on, but each of these people can be a resource to help build out training at your company.  

Most of your team — or someone on your team — went to a trade school. Connecting with local instructors is one of the fastest ways to create a steady pipeline of new talent while expanding training opportunities for your team. And there is an extra bonus: teaching sharpens your own skills!  When your team steps in to train students, they’re not just giving back, they’re reinforcing what they do every day and raising the bar on the jobsite. 

These days, you have likely worked with a recruiter at some point to fill a position or maybe to even get your job. Not all recruiters are created equal, and that’s where organizations such as Building Talent Foundation stand out. Focused on the trades, they connect builders and contractors with emerging talent to help grow the workforce. One of the most valuable ways to engage? This organization often offers opportunities for mock interviews. By participating in these interviews, you’re not only sharpening your own interviewing skills, but you’re helping students build the confidence and skills they need to get hired. It’s a true win-win as it’s a great way to train your team to be better at identifying the right talent, and you build relationships. These candidates often go on to be hired by the companies supporting the mock interviews.  

If you have been in business for a while you have likely grown a solid network of manufacturer contacts — people you can call on for install guidance, tool support or to troubleshoot jobsite issues. Don’t overlook these contacts when it comes to training. Many offer ready-made resources you can tap into such as YouTube videos, articles or product walk-throughs that can help your team sharpen their skills and stay current. They’re often free, easy to access and are a great way to introduce new techniques or tools that make getting the job done easier, faster and safer.   

At the end of the day, remember to be creative. Training should be fun and engaging and as you can see from our quick list, there are likely resources in your network that can make training a positive experience for your team and your community.