Even though I've been in this industry for sooo long I still don't get it. Not many students are being steered toward the trades. In our area, plumbers are charging $150 per hour; $100 for the plumber and $50 for the helper who basically watches the plumber work and hands him tools when he needs them. I've asked how can they justify charging so much and the answer is always the same..."there aren't enough plumbers to go around so we have to charge more."
Sounds familiar to me.
How many trained forklift mechanics are in your state? In NH I would guess there are about 20.