Did you know that the average age of American skilled workers is nearly 55 years old? As more trained, experienced and highly-skilled workers retire, the gap in the skilled labor pipeline will continue to grow. This expanding divide is already threatening dozens of trades, and the floorcovering and carpentry industries are no different.

The skilled labor shortage has a potentially devastating consequence for our economy as well. At the height of the recession, more than 30% of American manufacturers reported that they had jobs going unfilled because they could not find workers who have the right skills.