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A leading Central Valley staffing organization will host a virtual roundtable to help employers attract Gen Z workers seeking in jobs in the trades industry. 

PrideStaff, a Fresno-based, nationally franchised staffing firm, is hosting its second in a series of free virtual roundtables on Feb. 20 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.

The roundtable, “Hiring and Retaining the Next Generation of Trade Talent,” is designed to help employers connect with a growing number of Gen Z workers pursuing careers in skilled labor.

Members of Gen Z were born from 1997 to 2012.

The “Toolbelt Generation,” a term used to describe young people who are choosing skilled trades, is increasingly looking to take advantage of opportunities that offer career growth and financial stability.

The roundtable will feature Ron Hetrick, senior labor economist with labor market analytics company Lightcast; Genelle Taylor Kumpe, CEO of the Fresno Business Council and the San Joaquin Valley Manufacturing Alliance; and Sean Akin, vice president of PrideStaff’s Fresno branch operations.

The session will be moderated by Leslie Vickrey, CEO and founder of ClearEdge, a marketing agency specializing in the talent and human resources tech industry, with its corporate headquarters in Aliso Viejo.

Some of the discussions of the virtual roundtable include how demographics and generational changes are impacting skilled labor recruitment, successful and unsuccessful methods for employers to recruit new workers, and the expectations managers should have as they help shape a new generation of skilled talent.

Akin said that employers need to not only focus on their own needs, but also on the next generation of workers, what the workforce is doing and how to adjust to it.

“Millennials have grown up and gone into the workforce, so we are going to be spending some time talking about Gen Z and the new wave of the workforce coming through,” Akin said.

He said virtual attendees will not be hearing from someone with an agenda, but rather from people who can provide real world examples, drawn from what they see day-to-day rather than just theories and data.

There are differences between millennials and Gen Z for expectations in the workplace, Akin said.

Millennials really focused on how they felt their employers were doing and what their social presence was.

He said Gen Z is going back to more traditional roots of how they could better their own and their family’s situation. They also have a sharper focus on time, rather than just money, wanting to make sure they have time to do things they want, especially travel.

“I would say they share more of the Baby Boomer mentality than past generations. It’s kind of going backwards a little bit—which is a good thing. I think that’s what we need,” Akin said.

He said there has been a stigma about millennials, described as entitled, lazy and seeking instant gratification. But the Gen Z generation has figured out that if millennials aren’t interested in skilled jobs such as welders and machinists, there is going to be a gap.

Millennials were more likely to be pushed to go to college, Akin said, but 90% of them didn’t get a job in the fields they studied.

Akin said people can go straight into the skilled trade workforce with a year or two of experience and make six figures off the bat.

He said there is an expectation that about 1,000 people will attend the virtual event.

“We are really gaining traction and it’s providing a lot of value,” Akin said of the virtual series. “Even if they could give us 15 to 20 minutes of their time, I think they’d get a lot of benefit.”

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Register for “Hiring and Retaining the Next Generation of Trade Talent,”  on Feb. 20 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.