AUSTIN, Texas — Millions of dollars in tornado damages need repairing in Texas. The Texas Insurance Council reports there are roughly 3,500 claims and an estimate of $32 million in tornado damages. However, homeowners could be waiting a while for those fixes as the state grapples with a labor shortage.
The recent storms have brought to light the lack of labor workers in the state. Now, trade schools are addressing the shortage of electricians to making sure homeowners are not left in the dark.
Matthew Singer went from tradesman to teacher. After ten years as an electrician, Singer has hung up his helmet to train future electrical workers.
“The need for electrical has only gone up as we experienced here with the power outages last year, a little bit of that this year,” Singer said.
To meet the growing demand for electricians, the courses Singer teaches at Skillpoint Alliance in Austin have gotten faster and more hands on. Only a few days into this course, students are already learning conduit bending, a skill Singer said many four or five-year apprentices don’t know how to do.
“More knowledge is required. Our systems that we’ve had for the last 60 years are being updated,” he said.
20-year-old Roberto Calderon Jr. said his cousin just completed the course and encouraged him to take it. And he said the prospects of an immediate job didn’t hurt either.
“Definitely, there’s a hire demand like you know, people are like wanting to hire like really bad,” Calderon Jr. said.
Texas Workforce Commission projects there will be nearly 10,000 electrician jobs available within the next six years. Skillpoint Alliance CEO Kevin Brackmeyer said the program has seen an increase in applications recently. He said with the recent storms and the housing supply shortage, electricians are needed more than ever.
“Anytime any type of disaster like that happens you definitely see an increase in the need to hire skilled trades,” Brackmeyer said.
Brackmeyer said another reason for the shortages is the electrical field has always had an awareness gap, i.e. a lack of understanding the career. The electrician training course has also increased its hiring rate. Singer said it went from 80% to around 90% in the last year.
“All these gentlemen here are going to have a job waiting for them when they leave here,” he said.
And that means more hands to repair houses.
The Skillpoint Alliance electrical courses are free for applicants who qualify.