When not painting houses, I am a full-time firefighter-paramedic. One of the big challenges facing the fire service today is recruitment and retention. One of my tasks as a senior firefighter is working on the recruiting committee. Our primary goal is to get out in the community and generate interest in entering the fire service. What I have learned during this time is getting people, especially young people, interested in what we do is easy. Keeping them in the fire service is an entirely different challenge.
As a painting business owner, I see the paint trade facing the same challenges. On the whole, the trades (painting, framing, drywall, plumbing) have been looked down upon as lowly tasks that uneducated people do, when they don’t have the education to do anything else. Those of us who have been around a bit know this just isn’t the case. Our country was built by tradesmen. Obtaining the skills needed to frame a structure, run water lines, or pull wiring were at one point something to be proud of. I’m sure, like me, you have all heard, “You don’t want to end up like that guy” while someone is pointing or motioning to a tradesman.
In the fire service, we have a saying: Each one teach one. The underlying meaning is that experience and knowledge are great, but when that person leaves the organization, so does that knowledge and experience. For those of us who work in the paint trade, I truly believe it is up to us to bring in a younger generation and help mold them to one day take over.
One way I work to recruit is in conjunction with a local high school. They have a trade program for those interested in learning hands-on skills. In the coming year, I will bring high-school students onto job sites and teach them the ins and outs of painting. There is an element of in-class lecturing, but most of us know the best way to learn is put hands on tools.
Retention in the trades is probably, in my opinion, more difficult than recruiting. The fire service has taught me many lessons I can and have applied not just to my personal life, but also running a painting company. With regards to retention, if you want people to stick around and invest in your organization, you have to treat them right. A popular saying I have learned is, “Take care of your crews and your crews will take care of you.”
How are you treating your employees? Currently, I have one full-time summer employee. He’s been with us since the company went live in 2020. When we started the company, we wanted to really focus on a family-oriented philosophy and an environment of caring and quality. The little things matter when it comes to being successful at that. I buy the brushes Brandon (my full-timer) uses. I replace his painter whites. He gets a Christmas card and a gift. We are good friends with his parents and I look after him like he’s my own kid. Being that he’s in college is obviously different than someone who is truly a full-time crewmember, such as an adult with a family. But I truly believe if we treat apprentices with respect from the beginning while laying out the expectations and standards, it will only pay dividends in the long run.
AJ Karaffa is the owner of AJ’s Brushworks in Georgetown, Texas. When he’s not training the next generation of painters, he volunteers at the Georgetown Fire Department.
