Las Vegas vs Buffalo …my perspective as it relates to skilled trades

Working for a company that recruits for the trades in Buffalo, NY lends me the opportunity to speak with a lot of tradesmen. Yesterday I spoke with a gentleman from Las Vegas who has been an electrician for nearly 30 years. He has had the recent misfortune of too few opportunities to continue working full time, and I believe this holds true simply because of his geographical location. In Buffalo, NY that scenario just does not exist.  Unemployment in Buffalo for the skilled trades is at zero.

Learning from dozens of resumes, phone calls, and stories before this most recent one, one plot still screams remarkable clearly. There are no jobs in Las Vegas for electricians. The IBEW bench is filled, building code is becoming nearly unbearably enforced, creating a fear of working on a residential customers property. The housing boom has passed, and furthermore, has lead to an overpopulated workforce. Casinos have what they need, and in the unlikely scenario they need electricians, it is never for a significant number of tradesmen. The proverbial pie, at one time able to feed all, is now so miniscule that there is nearly no pie left at all.

Headhunting from a different world, one in which the jobs are now plentiful and our pie robust, gives me a feeling of concern but provides a pathway to help those actively searching for work. Uprooting to a different climate, culture, workforce – takes effort, financial obligation, and a match for all parties.  I fully understand the significance of relocating and I will never take that for granted.

I invite those out of work, lacking work, or unhappy with their current prospects of work––to at least understand that in these difficult, far from tasty-apple-pie times, the opportunities do exist elsewhere.   That elsewhere is Buffalo, New York.

Let’s talk.

Teddy Royal, Recruiter