Jack this is spot on. I am a skilled trades tool and die maker. I know there have been very few apprentices that I have worked with in my 19 year career. I started at a small non union shop and learned my skill set in a very hands on way! Then I moved to a very large UAW shop for the insurance and benefits. As there is no pensions now, there is nothing keeping the top talent in these jobs as far as I can see.

I am currently transitioning from one company to another to save HOURS of drive time and in doing so I am witnessing one company offering buyouts while another is trying to grow their die maker numbers before retirements set in and all the knowledge is lost between generations. The people I see in these jobs hiring in are all older than I am. The apprentices are too. I see a major crisis coming in skilled labor in the next decade.

The good news is that as inflation keeps going, people can’t retire so that keeps these journeymen working well into their 70’s. (Sorta Joking)

My plans are to transition into BTC work within the next 5 years and out of this trade if that’s what it takes. But I do agree we are witnessing a collapse right before our eyes and wanted to give ya a vision from a slightly different perspective.