Earlier this year at NASCC: The Steel Conference, organized by the American Institute of Steel Construction, I attended a session called “Bridging the Generational Gap,” a panel discussion involving various young people who chose steel construction as a career. During that session, Jaylen Alexander, a welder at Universal Steel, Lithonia, Ga., stood out—so much so that the audience applauded after one of his answers. It had to do with mentorship.
He came to the structural fabricator with no experience, but he was eager to learn. A veteran welder saw his earnest curiosity and took Alexander under his wing. “He stayed on me and made sure I kept practicing. I also got close with him outside of work. He’d ask, ‘How’s your life going?’ He was interested in me, and I thank him for that. To be honest, at first, I didn’t believe in myself. He continued to push me. Without him, I would not be where I am today.”
Cue the applause. The audience reaction was visceral, likely because making connections gets to the heart of the skilled labor issue. Technology drives metal fabrication forward, but the fuel is making connections that relate challenges in the current job to past experiences. Mentorships help a new generation build those connections, which in turn help create the next generation’s skilled employees…