Stepping Up

This Old House launched its Generation NEXT initiative to shine a light on the urgent need for young people to enter the building trades. Here, we share high points of our work to date—and how we’re continuing the effort to close the skills gap.

- Jill Connors

Norm Abram is not exaggerating when he says that there could come a time when a homeowner will need to call a carpenter, plumber, or electrician for a repair, and there won’t be anyone with the skills to do the job. “There’s a critical need for people in home construction,” says the This Old House master carpenter. “The deficit of skilled workers is unlike anything I’ve seen in all my years in the business.”

Statistics bear out the prediction: The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that more than seven million jobs in the construction industry will need filling by 2024 to replace the number of skilled workers who are at retirement age.

The lack of young talent doesn’t bode well for anyone running a business in the building trades, either. TOH landscape contractor Roger Cook sees it as a limiting factor. “You can’t expand your business without good people,” says Roger.

This awareness led This Old House to launch Generation NEXT back in January 2017. Part of the initiative has involved recruiting apprentices—some with no skills, some with a few years under their tool belts—to work alongside the TOH TV pros. Through national casting calls, we’ve selected groups of apprentices for the past two seasons, giving them multiweek stints on the project house job sites.

For TOH general contractor Tom Silva, the apprentices are a much-appreciated addition. “It’s great to have apprentices on a site, not only because it’s another pair of hands but also because it’s a way to help them increase their skill and move on,” says Tom. “There’s every reason to go into the building trades today. If you are good, you will absolutely have work.”