Help wanted

When issues affect American woodshops, it’s easy to assume it’s just us. Not necessarily.

In the current issue of Woodshop News, John English has an excellent feature on what shops might expect as they make plans for 2024. Not surprisingly, the difficulty in finding reliable and knowledgeable workers is one of the top concerns. I say “not surprisingly” because that seems to have been a problem for some time now.

But that’s not an issue just for woodshops here in the U.S. On my recent trip to Ireland, I found the same concerns.

The current U.S. unemployment rate stands around 3.8 percent. Ireland is nearly the same at 4.1 percent. While in Trim, Co. Meath, I visited Mangan Woodcraft – a producer of custom kitchens, built-ins and freestanding dining furniture – and had a chance to talk about his shop.

Danny Mangan’s business has been located in the downtown area for three decades, on the same street where he grew up. The location has a small showroom and office out front, with his full workshop in the back. It seemed unusual to see a custom kitchen and woodworking business in a town center, but he said the site works well for him. Except for one thing.

He noted that in the past he’s typically had three to five employees, but these days he has real trouble hiring competent workers. It’s changed how he does business. Where he once produced nearly everything in his own shop, in the last few years he’s outsourced a lot of his cabinetry. He still does all the custom designs and installations, but subcontracting components to meet clients’ needs has become a necessity.

Chances are good that some of you have had to do the same. As a trend, it appears this will continue into 2024. Both here, and abroad.