Recently over on Linked in a post was made about having a training architecture problem (original article here). I agree with Mr. Scales "That is not a hiring problem. It is a training architecture problem." I can speak about this but from my experience as Maintenance Manager.
Let's start with the largest issue I see when reviewing job postings is the heavy reliance on Bachelor's degrees, trade school and industry certifications to try and avoid training people. Now to many this will sound absurd, but the best maintenance techs in my experiance tend to be on the Autism Spectrum. Through experience they know by sound, subtle shifts, and vibrations, or even visual cues in a building, that something is not right with a piece of equipment or a structural component. They also usually have an amazing ability when stumped by a new problem to tie experience with something different, to the current issue and devise a correction.
The big issue though is that most of these people do not do well in a traditional classroom or laboratory environments, and never have those degrees or certifications because of that. I think the heavy reliance on industry to lean on vocational schools and colleges has been a major issue in this field quickly running out of workers. Now add to it these workers tend to be very underpaid, in example a general "fix it all" technician in my area should be starting at $30 an hour not $17 or $20.
We need hiring managers and higher-ups to understand that their companies and profits are built on the company being able to perform, and ultimately that performance is made possible by the people keeping the systems and the building running. We also need managers that are willing to actually work with their crews, not just say "fix this" and never leave their desk. Those same managers need to realize that many of their subordinates are in fact not neurotypical so how you address issues with each one will be different, and must be handled quickly but delicately because if you let something wrong slide it will quickly become a default when that crew member needs to do it again.
Maura Out