Recruiting and Retaining Blue-Collar Skilled Workers with Ryan Englin

In episode 218, Coffey talks with Ryan Englin about recruiting and retaining skilled workers in the blue-collar trades, addressing labor shortages, and changing perceptions of trade careers.

They discuss the retirement wave with 40% of tradespeople leaving in 7-10 years; barriers to entry including complex licensing requirements and limited apprenticeship slots; shifting cultural attitudes away from trades toward college; recruiting as a marketing activity requiring better messaging; retention problems masquerading as labor shortages; the need for career progression paths and leadership development; creating friction in hiring processes to assess cultural fit; and specialized leadership training approaches for hands-on learners.

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About our Guest:

Ryan Englin is passionate about supporting growing businesses, particularly in blue-collar industries, to build amazingly productive companies by hiring the right people.

Growing up, he saw his own father working 12-hour shifts and weekends as an owner/operator, witnessing firsthand the struggles that these companies have in hiring quality frontline employees. Ryan was determined to help them find a better way.

His company, Core Matters, provides coaching and training on attracting, hiring, and retaining rock star employees. Using his proven process, the Core Fit Hiring System, small and midsize businesses learn how to start hiring better people, faster. With almost a decade in the business, Ryan has worked with over a hundred clients, helping business owners achieve their goals by hiring the right people.

Ryan Englin can be reached at

https://corematters.com

https://linkedin.com/in/ryanenglin

About Mike Coffey:

Mike Coffey is an entrepreneur, licensed private investigator, business strategist, HR consultant, and registered yoga teacher. In 1999, he founded Imperative, a background investigations and due diligence firm helping risk-averse clients make well-informed decisions about the people they involve in their business.

Imperative delivers in-depth employment background investigations, know-your-customer and anti-money laundering compliance, and due diligence investigations to more than 300 risk-averse corporate clients across the US, and, through its PFC Caregiver & Household Screening brand, many more private estates, family offices, and personal service agencies. Imperative has been named a Best Places to Work, the Texas Association of Business’ small business of the year, and is accredited by the Professional Background Screening Association. Mike shares his insight from 25+ years of HR-entrepreneurship on the Good Morning, HR podcast, where each week he talks to business leaders about bringing people together to create value for customers, shareholders, and community.

Mike has been recognized as an Entrepreneur of Excellence by FW, Inc. and has twice been recognized as the North Texas HR Professional of the Year. Mike serves as a board member of a number of organizations, including the Texas State Council, where he serves Texas’ 31 SHRM chapters as State Director-Elect; Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County; the Texas Association of Business; and the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, where he is chair of the Talent Committee. Mike is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) through the HR Certification Institute and a SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP). He is also a Yoga Alliance registered yoga teacher (RYT-200) and teaches multiple times each week.

Mike and his very patient wife of 28 years are empty nesters in Fort Worth.

Learning Objectives:

1. Reframe recruiting efforts as marketing activities that sell the lifestyle, earning potential, and career advancement opportunities in trades rather than focusing solely on job descriptions and technical requirements.

2. Develop comprehensive career progression pathways with clear visual representations showing advancement from entry-level to leadership roles, addressing the retention crisis caused by unclear growth opportunities.

3. Design hiring processes that assess cultural fit and behavioral alignment first, using practical tests like punctuality expectations and environment-specific interviews rather than relying solely on technical skills assessment.