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Thousands of the dirtiest and toughest jobs in New York are going unfilled, in sectors that pay well and could lift idle workers out of unemployment, without the heavy burden of college loans.
Employers can’t find enough local workers to fill such jobs as auto mechanics, welders, plumbers, construction workers, diesel technicians, cleaners, janitors, truckers and other typically solid middle-class, blue-collar jobs, which created the unique fabric of the city for a century, labor experts and educators told The Post.
With New York City’s official rate of unemployment stuck at 8.7 percent, officials have expressed shock at the reluctance of some able-bodied workers to think about these careers.
“There is a shortage of workers in some of these fields for a simple reason: For the last couple of years, they were frowned upon,” said Geraldine Maione, principal of William E. Grady Career and Technical High School in Brooklyn, which trains students for jobs in the auto industry, construction and other vocational careers.
“When we visit junior high schools and tell parents what we are all about, some parents will frown, ‘Oh, my child is not going to come to your school just to change the oil and fix cars.’ Guess what — somebody has to fix the cars.”
Zubair Munir is one of them. The 17-year-old is proud to be an auto technician apprentice at Bay Ridge Honda in Brooklyn. And unlike many of his pals, he doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty.
“They are all trying to get into academic programs at school,” Munir, who takes classes at Grady, told The Post. “I am the only one going to be a mechanic. I was talking to one of my friends at Halloween who is trying to become a dentist. I am proud to be that unique person [who breaks the mold].”
New York needs more of these unique workers — People like Matthew McEnteggart, 36, who went back to school to pick up more technical education at the Mechanics’ Institute at 44th Street in Manhattan to advance his career as a building manager at the New York Public Library.
“The trades are picking up right now, and construction is showing a bit of a resurgence in hiring,” said the Forest Hills native. “I don’t know why more people are not looking at these fields.”
For instance, the trucking industry has a shortage of drivers and diesel mechanics, according to Kendra Adams, president of the New York State Motor Truck Association. That’s despite average salaries of as much as $50,000 for drivers, and jobs as diesel technicians that can start at $30,000. All the jobs come with full benefits.
“We run into all the same issues as other blue-collar fields,” Adams said. “There’s not a lot of focus in the schools right now on blue-collar work. A lot of the programs are not being financed anymore, there is so much focus on high tech.”
Undoubtedly there are many reasons for the glaring mismatch between the numerous unfilled jobs in New York and an oversupply of job applicants.
Laid-off workers in sectors like finance, banking, technology and management don’t easily move into construction, economists say. It often takes retraining and inherent ability.
Of course, some blue-collar jobs have no shortage of takers. Deep in the bowels of the city, New York’s legendary urban “miners,” the famed sandhogs, have no problem recruiting, says Chris Fitzsimmons, business representative for sandhogs union Local 147.
“We’re holding our own,” he told The Post, explaining how recent city projects lifted employment. “When the economy was booming, we were starving over here. We were down to 80 workers out of a 600-to-700-man local in 2000. Since then we’ve grown to a 1,700-man local with approximately 1,200 people working.”
But elsewhere the need for technical workers is a near-crisis. “There’s a shortage of welders and plumbers in New York based on my enrollment,” said James Loriega, director of the Mechanics’ Institute.
The school offers advanced education in various technical fields. “The new generation is less enthused about working dirty and working with their hands,” Loriega said.
Fitzsimmons of the sandhogs said that there’s talk of another project opening up, creating a plethora of more jobs for tunnel workers.
“There’s an element of danger; we are not making cupcakes,” he said. “You’re working around heavy equipment, and we are underground, several miles from the nearest hospital. But it’s a good honest living if you are willing to do a hard day’s work.”
Munir at Bay Side Honda is not afraid of hard work. “This job keeps you set for life: You can pay all your bills, raise a family, have money for your kids — and you could eventually have a side business,” he said.