Advice to youth, against the backdrop of a tight labor market.

Career advice

Ken Clark Editor in Chief

Karla Robson, the manager of Slavens True Value Hardware in Cortez, Colo., has observed that our kids have been told that hardware is not a career. “Why would anyone say that to a kid?,” she asked.

Why indeed?

First of all, look at how much fun Robson seems to be having while managing the day-to-day chaos of a friendly hardware store – she’s the star of our Independent Profile on page 16.

And look at the fabulous careers in progress on pages 18-23 in our GenNext feature of future leaders. There’s a lot of gas left in the tank for these young executives, whose dossiers came to us after HBSDealer.com released an all-points-bulletin for future talent.

These are uplifting stories. But the challenge of recruiting and retention is real across industries in general. And it’s real in the hardware and building supply industry in specific.

Consider the recent Webinar hosted by HBSDealer: “The Impact of Rising Rates, Inflation and a Slowing Economy on Housing and Remodeling.”

Matt Saunders, senior VP of building products research for John Burns Real Estate Consulting added some color to what we all know is a very tight job market. “The number of unemployed per job opening, is close to the lowest on record,” he said. Plus “voluntary quits have been elevated as workers leave for greener pastures.” (Listen to the webinar at HBSDealer. com/webinars.)

Meanwhile, look what’s the most commonly mentioned challenge described by dealers from the 2022 HBSDealer Industry Scoreboard Survey: It’s labor or staffing. The second most-mentioned challenge is the inextricably related supply chain. (Delivery trucks can’t drive themselves. At least not yet. See story on page 28.)

So what can we say to our kids?

Happily, tons of programs industry-wide are supporting the mission of trade schools and skilled-trade training. (As I type, an announcement from Harbor Freight crosses the wires about a million-dollar-plus donation to 20 teachers as part of the retailler’s Tools for Schools program.)

Additionally, companies like Curtis Lumber are spreading the word often and early at job fairs throughout its business range, winning young hearts and minds with whiz-bang technology and cool tools

Curtis Lumber’s Doug Ford, VP of sales and purchasing, pointed to stats forecasting a 14.1 percent increase in U.S. construction costs, and he pointed the finger at a significant lack of labor as a major cost accelerator.

“The lack of awareness around the opportunities and the many misconceptions about the trades are prohibiting our youth from a very rewarding and lucrative career,” he said. “We need to educate schools and parents about the pathways that are available into the trades.”

What do you say? Let us know at news@hbsdealer.com.

Watch Curtis Lumber recruit for the future at HBSDealer.com/video

Hardware + Building Supply Dealer An EnsembleIQ Publication 8550 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60631 hbsdealer.com HBSDealer On The Web • HBSDealer Info Services

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT (HBSDealer, Drug Store News, Chain Store Age) John Kenlon, jkenlon@ensembleiq.com, 212-756-5238

EDITOR IN CHIEF Ken Clark

kclark@ensembleiq.com, 212-756-5139

LBM EDITOR Andy Carlo

acarlo@ensembleiq.com, 845-891-5108

HARDWARE EDITOR Tim Burke

tburke@ensembleiq.com, 773-216-7880

ADVERTISING SALES Midwest & Southeastern States ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Amy Platter Grant agrant@ensembleiq.com, 773-294-8598 Northeast and Great Lakes States REGIONAL MANAGER Greg Cole gcole@ensembleiq.com, 317-775-2206

AUDIENCE LIST RENTAL MeritDirect Marie Briganti 914-309-3378 SUBSCRIBER SERVICES/CUSTOMER CARE TOLL-FREE: 1-877-687-7321 FAX: 1-888-520-3608 contact@hbsdealer.com

PRODUCTION/ART SENIOR PRODUCTION MANAGER Patricia Wisser pwisser@ensembleiq.com, 908-420-0863 CREATIVE DIRECTOR Colette Magliaro cmagliaro@ensembleiq.com ART DIRECTOR Bill Antkowiak bantkowiak@ensembleiq.com

TOP WOMEN IN HARDWARE & BUILDING SUPPLY

NOV. 8-9 2022, CHICAGO, ILL. WWW.HBSDTOPWOMEN.COM CONTACT: AMY PLATTER GRANT agrant@ensembleiq.com, ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD

Levi Smith, CEO, Franklin Building Supply Cally Fromme, VP of communication and culture, Kodiak Building Partners Steve Sallah, CEO, LBM Advantage Wendy Whiteash, EVP of culture, US LBM Holdings Tom Cost, owner, Killingworth True Value Brad McDaniel, owner, McDaniel’s Do it Center Joe Kallen, CEO, Busy Beaver Building Centers

Permissions: No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

CORPORATE OFFICERS

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Jennifer Litterick CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Jane Volland CHIEF PEOPLE OFFICER Ann Jadown EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, OPERATIONS Derek Estey EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, CONTENT & COMMUNICATIONS Joe Territo

connect with us