Training Gen Alpha Isn’t Optional with Darryl Gratrix

Daryl connects manufacturing, education, and workforce development helping companies across Ontario, Canada prepare for the future of skilled trades. Working for over 25 years as a tool and die maker showed him that most people have no idea this career exists or where it fits into the economy and trades overall. That invisibility is why nobody enters these fields. A third of Ontario's skilled trades workers are over 55 and heading toward retirement in the next decade, and this pattern is likely playing out across the globe. Companies aren't preparing to transfer decades of knowledge to the next generation before it disappears. We talk about how technology like virtual reality and AI-powered training apps make learning more engaging while preserving what veterans know. The industry keeps fighting over the same small talent pool instead of expanding it by showing up in schools early. Young people can't choose careers in trades they don't know exist.Highlights:How new training technology makes learning skilled trades more engaging for younger generations.Why companies need better systems to capture and preserve knowledge before experienced workers retire.The talent shortage is a math problem expanding the pool matters more than competing for the same people.What shifts when companies move from informal apprenticeships to structured training approaches.Visibility drives interest young people need to know trades exist before they can choose them as careers.Subscribe to Blue Collar BS where we talk about the real gaps between generations in blue collar work and what it takes to lead across different age groups in today's trades. Every episode tackles the gap between what you're told should work and what actually works when you're running a business in the real world.Resources:Knowledge capturing softwareVRhttps://gpconnections.com/Get in touch with Darryl:WebsiteLinkedInGet in touch with us:Check out the Blue Collar BS website.Steve Doyle:WebsiteLinkedInEmailBrad Herda:WebsiteLinkedInEmailThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrpOP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy