Former GE Executive Lists 5 Reasons You Should Pursue A Trades Career

“When you’re an executive of a company, it’s so awkward to say that you don’t have the courage to go do something else,” Jon Bostock, former GE executive and now CEO of home solutions company Leaf Home, reflected from his chair adjacent the floor-length window of his 100-year-old home, as we sat down to talk about his passion for restoring trade careers all over America.

I could already see that this conversation, originally intended to directly answer the question, “Why trades?”, was inextricably tied to a much deeper, underlying question…The question of whether one should choose between being mission-driven to create a better world through their career choice, or focusing solely on creating a six-figure income for themselves and their families.

The Leaf Home executive, whose ancestors moved to the USA from to escape the Holocaust, noted that towards the close of his 11 years at GE, he began reflecting on his own career journey and purpose in life, and decided to dive into making a meaningful pivot. “I ended up writing a book called ‘The Elephant’s Dilemma.’ Because of debts and other financial dependencies, we have to work, it’s just the way the world is set up.” He paused insightfully. “But so many of us make career choices that are not aligned to what we really want to do. That’s why I wrote this book.”

The labor shortage

Bostock eyes a unique window of opportunity for those considering their career paths with the goal of finding personal fulfilment. Contrary to popular opinion, he firmly believes you can achieve both financial and career fulfilment, and make a real impact in the world, through undertaking a career in the skilled trades industry.

“Leaf is introducing new products and services,” he says. “We’re able to not only help homeowners in the short term, but we fundamentally believe in this long term vision that we can make homeownership easier,” Bostock explained.

But there is a problem.

The United States is facing a trade industry crisis, with 40 percent of those in the skilled trades workforce over the age of 45, and almost half are over 55. At the same time, more than a third of homes across the country are older than 50 years, resulting in structural issues that need to be resolved to extend its lifetime. This indicates that, relative to the number of homeowners across the continent, there is insufficient supply to fulfil the demand for skilled trade workers across the country, to support home renovations and installations.

“If you look at Leaf home as an example, we have demand of 10,000 tradespeople over the next year,” the Leaf Home CEO shared animatedly. “When you think about these macro trends of a younger generation, who is more interested in potentially creating a PowerPoint or Excel spreadsheet versus actually doing physical work?

“There’s been a big shift, and so part of our thesis is not only do we need to inspire people to be interested in the trades, but we also need to help people develop those skill sets and support schools and programs that teach the trades.”

Five reasons to consider a job within skilled trades

Aside from the high demand within skilled trades, whereas other industries might be over-saturated currently, Bostock shared five reasons a career within trades makes an excellent choice:

Change of work environment

“First of all, it’s a completely different environment,” he begins. “And when you think about someone who walks into an office, sits in the same chair, looks at the same computer, and most likely interacts with a digital interface all day long, that is a path that’s very different from someone who may be in five different homes during a day, dealing with a full range of complexity. So the whole concept of what you do during the day is very different.”

Unique challenges

Bostock observed that in the skilled trades industry, you are repeatedly faced with unique and complex challenges that require hands-on expertise and cannot be easily solved with artificial intelligence.

“What I think is inspiring about the trades is that you’re constantly dealing with unique issues,” he remarked. “There’s a different pace and a unique satisfaction along with it. The concept of seeing instant results and dealing with challenges and complexity in real time is also fascinating.”

Financial rewards

What many people may not know, is that a career path within the trades comes with significant compensatory benefits, without the trade-off of long-term indoor sedentary work that so often induces disease. “Even within our own ecosystem, some folks in the trades can make up to six figures doing this, in addition to having a lifestyle that’s more active,” Bostock noted.

However, it is essential to bear in mind that just as in any industry, there are several factors that influence pay levels including experience, education or specialized training, and demand for the specific role per one’s location.

The career path—it’s more than just being a plumber

“There is a career path as well,” Bostock was keen to point out. “So while on one hand, we absolutely need people to do the trades, the reality is that you need people to manage those people, too. So it’s not a path without a career track. We’re not talking about just being a plumber. If you want to also lead people, well, you could lead a team of plumbers. You could even lead a company that does it.”

Professional development

Bostock’s obsession with narrowing the talent gap in skilled trades, fuels Leaf Home’s initiatives for training and continued professional development including progression planning at the company.

This includes programs at Leaf Home that ensures the company invests in both training and hiring their talent, from a variety of sources, including internships for US military veterans that range from IT roles to HR and contractor jobs.

Leaf Home is one of a few organizations such as Black & McDonald, Altria, and Philip Morris USA, all of which are dedicated to expanding the wealth of opportunities the trades industry offers to those who might not have otherwise considered such a fulfilling career.

I had one ultimate question for Bostock. “What advice would you give to someone who’s on the fence about considering a career in trades?”

“I was at GE for 11 years,” he said regretfully. “Six of those I wanted to leave. And when I left, I finally realized that all you need to do is take that first step. Go out and take a class. Go shadow someone. If for even one minute, you wake up in the morning, look yourself in the mirror and say, ‘I think I want to do something different,’ I would challenge you to take that first step right away.”