We see many posts on this site from small business owners looking for "qualified" or "knowledgable" help. How much extra, per year is it worth to have an employee who can talk to the public easily and explain in simple terms the science behind the methods you use to protect, save or beautify their trees? This is not an easy skill to master, particularly as you learn more. I have to remember each fall that I am now explaining the concepts that I have learned from "experts" around the world and across the web to students who just left high school and identify trees as "Christmas trees and other trees."
When I started with Davey in '67, I knew none of the science. The best I could do when asked why I was doing something by the property owner was to say that is was the way I had been told to do it by the foreman. I am sure this did not impress a whole lot of people. Luckily, the foreman was usually there to give a more complete answer. We have come a long ways since the days of flush cuts, tree paint and DDT/Lead Arsenate, luckily!! The answers to the questions are becoming much more complex, particulary when dealing with the very knowledgable high end clients we often meet in today's marketplace.
When was the last time you sent a donation to the school or organization that taught you what you know? When was the last time you referred an interested student to a school? There are not nearly enough graduates to fill the jobs that come across my desk each year. We need to be part of the solution. You can visit your local schools and visit with the ag, biology and horticulture classes. This will not only help some people get enthused about your industry, but may also get a few jobs when the student goes home, sees a problem and tells the folks he knows a person who can take care of it. You can send a donation to a facility which has done a good job of training past hires to thank them. Many have a budget like mine of $3000/year to provide materials to train a dozen or so students.
Or you can send that good prospect who dragged brush for you all summer and still was excited to a school for training. A one year diploma program at MSU-Bottineau will set you back about $5000 for tuition and fees. For many of the higher end areas of the country, this cost is covered by one good job. I have one exstudent selling $30,000 work per week, during the height of the season, in the New York area. He started in July and has been the top salesman of the week several times already. Education did not cost him, it paid. If you have a good prospect, we still have half the year left this year, or you can contact me at any time next summer.
I know this sounds like a commercial, it is. It gets frustrating having companies call year after year and you have no students available for them. But they keep trying and so will I.
Bob
PS. I am also available for onsite training session throughout the summer months.
