In recent years, the traditional trades such as plumbingmasonry or, in this case, welding, are losing appeal among new generations, despite their importance for the functioning of the economy. The aging of the workforce and the shortage of young people who choose to train in these professions have generated a problem of generational change, which threatens the continuity of thousands of workshops and small businesses throughout Spain.
The case of Blas Martín, welder and owner of a small metal carpentry workshop in Granada, reflects this situation, which worsens year after year due to the lack of generational changesince it is increasingly difficult to find young people interested in learning the trade. “There is a lack of electricians, there is a lack of people for the work, before there were plumbers with shovels…”, he explains in the ‘Sector Oficios’ podcast.
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How much does a self-employed welder pay?
With more than twenty years of experience in the sector and having had various jobs, Blas currently manages his own metal carpentry and, as a freelancer, has to face the high costs of his activity and the hiring of personnel.
In terms of Social Security alone, the registration of an employee costs close to “1,000 euros per month”, so, in this sense, he defends that many companies require previous experience from new employees, because due to this, many workshops are forced to reject apprentices because the investment in training and the labor cost is not compensated by their productivity.
“I see it as normal, because you have to pay the same for a person you have to teach as for another who has been in the trade for 20 years,” he points out, revealing one of the main obstacles that slows the incorporation of young people into the sector.
Added to this is the obligation to face the costs of materials, the uncertainty about collections, since “there are clients who ask for quotes to bargain for 20 euros”, and the salaries of employees, whose room for improvement exists, but as long as it is linked to the productivity of the employee. “What would I like to pay 2,000 euros? If he gets it, I’ll pay him. It doesn’t matter to me if he pays the kid 2,000 or 3,000 euros if he gets me the job. But he has to get it,” says Blas.
Why is there no generational change?
For the professional, the attitude of young people towards work has also changed compared to previous generations. He acknowledges that he started very young and assures that he accepted any opportunity. “I was caught that I was grasping at straws to make money,” he says, lamenting that newcomers want to enter jobs paid like any other worker, and insists that lack of experience makes a difference.
“I wish everyone could be paid the same, but someone who is starting out does not perform the same as a person who has been in the job for five years.”
For this reason, he encourages young people to be patient, since salaries can improve quickly with effort and learning, pointing out that “perhaps at the beginning they earn 1,200 euros, but after a few months they can go to 1,500, and the following year reach 1,700 or 1,800 euros,” he says.
For all these reasons, the lack of generational change is one of the great challenges. The welder regrets the difficulty in finding motivated and, above all, well-trained young people. A situation that, if it persists, could lead to the closure of small businesses and an increase in the cost of services in a country where manual jobs have lost their attractiveness while salaries increase due to a shortage of labor.