Here’s a shocking revelation. There is no unemployment crisis in the United States. There is no lack of jobs – at least when it comes to tile installation. On the contrary, there IS a lack of qualified installers to do the huge volumes of work that are piled up across the country for large and small contracting companies alike. Lots of opportunity, few people to take advantage of it. So yes, there is an employment crisis in this country, but it’s not an absence of available work. The refrain of “there aren’t enough people to do the work” is a common one at industry events or when talking with industry person- nel. So I’m going to get on my soap box here and talk about what’s going on and ways to combat it. College is a great thing. I went to college, received a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication. It has served me well. But the college path isn’t for everyone. Nor should it be assumed to be. And many people who graduate from college are STILL looking for jobs that can put food on their tables and give them a comfortable living. In my opinion, the emphasis away from trades in high school and towards college prep classes – in many cases to the complete exclusion of the role and opportunities offered by trades – has done this country a great disservice. Trades are necessary to our way of life. They are immediate, they are local, and tradespeople are trusted members of the commu- nity. Their work cannot be out- sourced. You’re not going to have a plumber from a call center located in another country fixing your toi- let or a tile installer Skyping in to set your kitchen backsplash. They are replaceable – but only by those whose skills and work are superior – or by those who undercut their prices so much that the work suf- fers – and then those skilled work- ers get to come in and fix the mess made by cheap, often untrained laborers. Working as a tiler also generates tremendous pride in one’s work – being able to drive by a structure that you contributed to or a stunning tile or stone installa- tion that you executed is a lasting, tangible monument to your craft and your contribution. EDITOR’S LETTER Lesley A. Goddin “The job market of the future will consist of those jobs that robots cannot perform. Our blue-collar work is pattern rec- ognition, making sense of what you see. Gardeners will still have jobs because every garden is different. The same goes for construction workers. The losers are white-collar workers, low-level accountants, brokers, and agents.” – Michio Kaku 12 TileLetter | April 2017