Construction Trailblazers: Paving The Way to Excellence

Samantha: Welcome to Construction Trailblazers Paving the Way to Excellence, the podcast where we cut through the noise to uncover what truly drives success in the building industry.

I'm Samantha C. Prestige, your guide in simplifying operations and turning dynamic teams into industry leaders.

I'm all about helping you create a high performing team that consistently delivers success without daily chaos.

You can explore our past episodes at construction trailblazers.

com and start your journey to excellence.

Today I'm joined by Josh Neves, who's all about elevating construction professionals, transforming careers, and redefining what field leadership looks like.

After going from master electrician to a 100 60 acre farm owner in less than three years, he founded a sender consulting to help blue collar professionals take control of their growth.

He's also a key player at Miller electric company serving as their regional workforce development manager.

I'm especially excited for this conversation because Josh and I have similar vibes.

We're both fun challengers who call out the nonsense while still making problem solving enjoyable.

And today we're busting some of the biggest myths in hiring and retention and construction.

Myths that are costing too many companies way too much money.

So if you're tired of the same old excuses and ready for profitable, actionable shifts in perspective, then this episode is for you.

All right, Josh, like I said, I'm really excited for this.

Let's start with just breaking down the trends that you're seeing, whether that's with the clients you're working with or the prospects that haven't signed yet and are just in denial of their problems.

Josh Nieves: Yeah, absolutely.

And Sam, thank you so much for having me on.

So one of the, one of the things that I tend to see, right, when I deal with People who are in high school and just thinking about stepping into the trades are like, what's their journey going to be like a lot of times they
don't understand the opportunities that the trades bring typically what ends up happening when we have conversations around blue collar, the blue collar workforce immediately in your head and they tend to think about boots.

Dirty kind of gritty construction.

Right.

But what I typically like to do when I go to these things, they see a guy in a suit and there's a rhyme and a reason to that.

I want to show what career growth opportunities look like.

And I want to get it front facing.

I can't tell you how many times I go there and I hear if you didn't, if you didn't lift weights, we wouldn't think you were a construction worker.

Right?

I hear this quite often or some kids say.

Right.

You know, you don't look like a construction worker.

Right.

But I want them to understand what success can look like for them.

Right.

So what I typically like to do is get the multiple career pathways front facing like, Hey.

If you want to step into the electrical industry, right?

Cause that's the industry that I primarily serve not when I'm coaching, but with Miller electric you know, you don't have to stay on the tools, right?

And if you do, that's okay.

But you could be a project manager.

You could be a superintendent, a general foreman, an estimator, an engineer.

Or you could do what I did.

You can launch your own business.

Don't ask me why I did that.

I still have my hair.

So it wasn't too bad, but you can touch that type of success.

And at that point, we're talking multiple six, multiple seven.

And I have some friends who have even sold their businesses and I've touched eight figures.

So I have this when I have this conversation, it's not like, Hey, do you want to be an electrician?

Sign up and walk away.

I break everything down into actionable steps, and I make them make it very clear that there are multiple career pathways, and you can choose anyone you want.

Right?

It looks different for everyone.

So,

Samantha: so it sounds like it's not just like a bad or a misconception of the industry, but it's a little bit more of like, they're just kind of ignorant to really what's out there and the possibilities there.

Are you seeing just a lot of aha moments for them in these conversations?

Transcribed

Josh Nieves: Yes, and what's really exciting to me, it comes from the ones that I don't expect it from, and it's typically the girls.

The girls, yeah, the girls are so fired up about it because I do touch on the idea of diversity.

I think it's super important, and a lot of women see this really tough, they see this strong industry, but they are tremendous assets.

Right.

My direct report in Miller Electric is not a guy.

It's a woman and she was the individual who I connected with that brought me on board powerhouse.

And a lot of the women that I even connect with, whether they're nonprofits or within schools, they are female educators and they are so passionate about giving young people
Putting everything on the table right and making it very clear that the trades today are an absolute viable option for you no matter what walk of life you're coming from.

So

Samantha: I think that's so important because they're so engrossed just in their phones and in social media that they just aren't really, I think unless you're doing something like you're doing of
like you're going in the, going in front of them to really talk to them, unless they have someone in their face showing them the possibilities, they're just never going to open their eyes to it.

So I absolutely love that.

And it's addressing kind of one of the first things we talked about when we first connected was just that labor shortage, the difference of, The people leaving the workforce and then the numbers that are coming into the trade industry.

So give our listeners that statistic you told me before, because this blew my mind.

Josh Nieves: Yeah, you know, so roughly for every seven to nine that are leaving, one is entering, give or take, right?

We could toss that up.

Those metrics are still horrible.

Yeah,

Samantha: that's it sucks, whether it's 7 or 9 or 6, that's still like you, you've got a shortage problem.

You've got to figure out how to do how to solve that.

And if you're not looking at those high school students or people that maybe tried college for a year and are now over college, if you're not looking at that age group, then you're really missing out.

Josh Nieves: Yeah, absolutely.

So, I mean, 1 thing, I actually spoke about this recently and, you know, one of the things I'm working on, I don't want, combating is probably the word, right?

The only reason I was introduced to the trades was because I was told by a guidance counselor in high school that my grades weren't university ready.

That's what I was told.

So, so from there, right, immediately there was this thought in my head like, okay, my only option is to go into the trades.

All right.

This was a time 2007 2008 where colleges were just.

You know, this is, this was it.

So in a way I was like, okay, like this is my own, this is my survival.

This is the only way I'm going to get through this thing.

Right.

But what was interesting was like, well, why was that?

Why did it take that for this pathway to be introduced to me?

Right.

I feel that should have just been put on the table regardless from day one.

Not, Hey, you're not university ready.

So go into the construction industry.

Right.

When today, the most successful people that I have in my circle.

Are in the construction workforce.

Many are business owners and they are thriving and the ones who went to college got these degrees, right?

Again, nothing wrong with that.

That are just like, you know, kind of paperweights for lack of a better term.

Right?

So, I didn't get in.

I didn't get any of those things.

I didn't go to the big universities, but I ended up finding success in the construction industry.

Samantha: Well, first off I hope that guidance counselor, someone spoke to her or something.

I hope what a

Josh Nieves: jerk.

Right?

What a jerk.

like

Samantha: that.

I mean, you're just feeding that stigma that like, oh, the trades and like that dirty work is just for the rough and dumb jock guys or something, right?

And now like there, there's hard work, but there's also a lot of brains that go into successful construction work.

And to just assume that, oh, you've got bad grades, so all you can do is.

This dirty work.

That's such a shame.

I'm sorry you had that experience, but also look at the wonderful career that you've built from that.

Oh yeah,

Josh Nieves: no, it was the best thing that could have happened.

But to, you know, to their defense, I will say you don't know what you don't know, right?

I think when you are accustomed to a certain system or a certain process, you're going to advocate for it.

You're going to pitch for it, right?

Most educators, right?

They get their four year degrees.

They get their master's and or their doctorate, right?

And that's what they're going to sell you on, right?

Because that's all they know.

So naturally when I went to vocational school I'll never forget Mr. Grady.

Shout out to him.

Amazing man.

He was like the opposite.

He was just all in on the trades and all in on the electrical industry.

So, there's always two sides to the coin.

So I don't want beat her up too much, you know?

Samantha: Thanks for pulling me back, bringing the compassion back.

No, it's all good.

Listen,

Josh Nieves: I had my moments as well.

Samantha: Yeah, I mean, but that's a great reminder of like, when you know better, you do better.

So we also want to help our listeners do better.

And when we connected, we joked that you are this awesome myth buster.

And so we did tee up the idea that we're going to be breaking some myths today.

So I want to play a myth busting game.

I'm going to toss some common Misconceptions in the industry.

And I want you to just kind of dive in and just be real with us of why those things are myths, why it's not true.

Sound good.

Cool.

All right.

So first, Smith, we've touched on this a little bit, but let's go a little bit deeper.

The labor shortage in the industry is hopeless.

Young people just don't want to work.

Josh Nieves: Yeah.

Yeah.

I totally agree.

Next question.

I'm kidding.

So, so I can confidently say if that's the attitude that you're taking, you're not even giving them an opportunity.

I've heard this multiple times.

Fortunately for me I had great mentors and great leaders kind of speaking positivity right into my life.

You hear this quite often.

Construction workers are always working themselves out of a job.

If you feed that.

Into young people.

That's how they are coming into the industry, right?

Our words have power.

I think that if that's the type of precedence you're setting for these people, right?

That's going to be something that they are going to carry in to their day to day.

We can't have those conversations Again having the mentorship and having the leadership over me.

I would go to these guys I would go to guys like my father who is a signatory contractor with local three.

I say hey pop This is I heard this on the job today.

Is that true?

And I would almost sit at the dinner table 18 years old see steam coming out of his ears like son Don't listen to that eventually, you know, you're gonna you're gonna mature and you're gonna know Who you need to be kind of linking arms with and who you need to keep a distance with.

Unfortunately, the culture and construction is very toxic.

And that is something that I can talk about for a very long time, right?

But that's something we need to absolutely get away from.

And we need to make sure it does not happen on the job.

But that whole young people don't want to work, that's not true.

I like to think I'm a young person, and I do not think I'm an anomaly.

I don't think I'm an anomaly at all.

Samantha: Yeah, I mean, this is like the power of positivity, right?

I mean, the companies that I see that have that mindset of young people don't want to work, then they are attracting those younger people that Aren't the best performers, but the companies that I see that are more positive that are going out and trying to find those hardworking individuals.

They are finding those Gen Zers or long young millennials or whatever that are amazing performers and end up staying with the team long term and they've solved those retention issues.

So it is definitely about you attract the energy that you're putting out there, right?

So, talking on retention, another myth we see is that the only way to attract workers is to offer higher pay.

So, what's actually driving people to stay or leave in their construction jobs?

Josh Nieves: All right, so I love this question.

So I am literally a workforce development.

Like, I'm a product of it, like, literally.

So I worked with 2 of the leading electrical contractors in the nation, EJ Electric, while I was in the Northeast.

And their counterpart, currently, Miller Electric in the Southeast.

So, I work with two leaders in the space.

We're talking top ten in the nation, between them both, right?

So, what I got to discover and what I got to learn, Sam, is how they move.

Right.

How are they doing this?

How is it that their average employee is with them for 15 years?

How are they pulling this off?

Right.

So yeah, pay is one thing, right.

That of course, but that's just one part of it.

Culture, right?

What your day to day looks like how you are treated.

Right is everything.

Multiple career pathways and growth opportunities.

Both these companies give you that opportunity, right?

When I was with EJ, I was with them for 17 years.

I started with them when I was 18 years old, all the way up to my early 30s, right?

So, I had every opportunity in front of me and at 23 years old, I was I was part of the team that was lighting the empire state building.

They gave me an opportunity.

Yeah.

And I had the opportunity before I left to be the guy who pulled the switch to light up the Brooklyn bridge is the first lighting project in several years.

Right?

So they gave me these opportunities for growth.

And then when I came to Miller.

I see the same thing.

People have been there for 25, 30 years.

Well, what are they cheating?

You can't really cheat that, right?

So what are they doing differently?

But I think putting people before profits, right?

Trust is one of their core values.

And it was at both of those companies.

You know, you almost ran like an entrepreneur.

They gave you a set of drawings and they said, go, we believe in you.

We will give you all the resources, the tools, the and the time you need.

To be successful.

How can we serve you, Josh?

That's what both these, this is what best in class companies are doing.

And if you're not, why would I stay?

Samantha: Yeah.

First off goosebumps, because the amount of like humility and gratitude that you express for these opportunities is amazing.

And there's not enough companies doing that.

I'm just really investing in.

And like you said, people over profits and the best conversations I have, I think are really with the owners of, or the CEOs of ESOPs, those employee stock owned companies.

And understanding that mindset shift that they had of like, okay, it's not just about this bottom line number, but it's about our stock numbers and things.

Right.

And not saying that you have to be an ESOP to then care about your people, but just that forces a different mindset for those leaders, which I think is really cool.

Okay, next myth.

I think you're going to love this because you're a coach, you're a trainer, right?

We've been talking about young people this whole time.

But leadership coaching should really only be for senior leadership and the C suite.

Don't bother with training the younger folks because they probably won't stick around.

Josh Nieves: That's, that is horrible.

Why would you say something like that?

That's

Samantha: the messenger.

I'm the messenger.

Okay.

Josh Nieves: So yeah, Sam, so I have had nothing but the pleasure of investing and pouring in to the blue collar workforce.

Right.

How that all started for me was a phone call from an apprentice just reaching out and asking me if I could mentor him and that bled into guys who were more seasoned hearing about this, right?

He went to work and he was starting to see that transformation in him.

This is really early on when I was building a sender.

I was really just doing it because I wanted to serve people.

I wanted to help people.

And I realized that there was some serious, like, firepower with what I was doing.

And then I realized, well, once people graduate their apprenticeship programs, or their pre apprenticeships, or maybe vocational schools, where's the investment in them?

A paycheck?

Like, where's the continued education?

It's non existent.

Right with many entities, it's non existent.

So, I figured, well, how can I put people in a position where they start thinking bigger mindset was the first thing I started kind of tapping into then leadership.

Right.

A lot of people think, well, I don't ever want to be.

I don't ever want to be a leader.

It's like, well, you have the capacity to be a leader where you are.

That doesn't mean you need to step into a leadership role.

But when you start to develop a leadership mindset and you start learning about advanced leadership techniques, it's only going to elevate you from where you are.

Right.

And if you want to grow, you have the tools necessary to do that.

Right.

And then what I would do as well is come in and then do like a career, create like a career roadmap for you, basically build that out.

So, you know, Sam, to be honest with you, that couldn't be more wrong.

Why are we only doing it for the C suite level?

Why are we only doing it for executives?

Are they the only ones who need support in the role?

That's nonsense.

That makes absolutely no sense to me whatsoever.

Samantha: It's triggering, right?

Josh Nieves: Yeah, it is.

It is.

So I just found that I had very strong mentorship.

Like I had mentioned my father kind of, when I would start to go this way, my father would kind of reel me back in, son, that's not the route you want to go, right?

I said, well, what if I could create a business model right to support the blue collar workforce, right?

Not a course where they just click online that is a resource All right, but as a one to one coach like what if I can do that because i've never seen it before and if they want to Elevate their role or they want to Just be more successful where they're at.

We can make that happen.

All right, but it really starts with this We have to start thinking differently

Samantha: And on that, like diving into that mindset, what really is driving that myth, that statement is fear, right?

You're scared that they're not going to stick around.

And anytime you're driving with fear, nothing good is going to come out of it, right?

You've got to be driving with that positivity.

It's almost like, like in a relationship.

If you say like, Oh, well, I don't want to trust this person.

I'm not going to open up myself to this person because they might leave.

Well, yeah, they're going to leave because you never, Offer it up that other side of yourself, right?

And so that's, I think the same thing that would happen with a young person entering the workforce or someone that's moving up to a new manager role that you're also not supporting,
you're not giving them the resources to want to stick around and if they do an awesome job for a bit and then they go on and find another opportunity, that's good for you.

That's your success and your legacy as a great leader, right?

Josh Nieves: Okay,

Samantha: next myth, the older generation built this industry, so they know how to best run it.

So really, let's dive into how have some outdated leadership styles contributed to some of the problems we're seeing in retention and hiring project excellence and all of that.

Josh Nieves: Yeah, so like one thing is the tough guy attitude and guys bearing their feelings, right for here's a statistic that I share quite often, you know, on average 1000 construction workers die a year from job related injuries and 6000 take their life.

That is horrendous, right?

That is horrendous.

And currently right now, I believe it's construction and mining have the highest suicide rates in the nation, right?

That tough guy, you know, and I don't mean to go this direction, right?

The tough guy, macho man attitude where we bottle up our feelings and we don't have deeper conversations on the job that needs to stop, right?

This is something like I'm really passionate about and like the sink or swim attitude, you don't just bring in young people to the business, hand them a set of drawings and say, good luck.

Like, first of all, that's how you lose money.

It's common sense, right?

It's going to put them in a position where they're going to fail and they're supposed to figure it out on their own.

Right.

These are things that we used to do back in the day.

Right.

Everyone's a tough guy.

Everyone's, I got this.

I'll figure it out and figure it out.

This generation does not move like that.

We need to support them, right?

Mental health is a real thing.

So, we need to, you know, treat it as such.

And then on top of that, when they do step into the industry, it should be, how can I serve you?

Not, you're on your own.

That can't happen.

I can tell you confidently, when I got into the business, early on, I didn't even know which way the subway went when I got into New York City.

I went, how is there two way trains?

One goes North one goes south.

I ended up in Harlem when I'm supposed to end up in Brooklyn.

Go, I get to the job.

I'm late.

This is day one, 18 years old, never been in New York city.

Right.

Other than when my dad held my hand, when I was a little kid through the labor day parade, right.

Go to the job and I'm stressing out and the guys could visibly see.

that I was struggling, right?

They saw it.

Now the old way, and there were some guys that I encountered, like, that were like this, he'll figure it out, right?

But what I got and I'm blessed and fortunate to have this experience, was as an 18 year old kid, guys, Grabbing my hand and we're going to get you home.

Josh, we're going to get you on that bus home.

You're going to figure it out.

We're going to teach you right instead of learning electrical work day one.

I got a guy putting the subway map on the wall and teaching me how to navigate New York City.

Right?

But that's the type of that's the type of servant leadership we have.

But.

That was non existent back in the day, right?

So, the tough guy of old saying, this industry doesn't want to work, there's no such thing as good help anymore, I can't find good help, right?

That's nonsense.

When you take that approach to young people, you don't even give them the opportunity.

You're not even giving them a chance.

Right out of the gate, right?

So that has to stop immediately.

I mean, I think I'm, I like to consider myself a little bit rugged, a little bit of a tough guy, right?

When it comes to supporting people, that's an entirely different thing.

So you need to take, I would say, I'm not saying a soft approach to the construction industry is very gritty and we do need to build a thick skin.

I'm a firm believer in that, but when people are struggling, we need to make sure that we're a resource and they have access to us.

So.

Samantha: There's such a big difference though, between like being a softie, being a little wuss about it and just being ego driven, right?

And that's really what it is of when you don't want to take the moment to pause and support those around you, you're just leading with your ego.

And for some of those tough guys, the way I've tried to explain it sometimes is all right.

Hey.

If you want to be a little bit selfish, just think about if you were somewhat compassionate to this other person, if you helped them out a little bit, think of the trouble you're saving down the line, right?

They're probably going to stay.

You don't have to fire them or you don't have to rehire.

You're not going to lose money on this project, right?

Like if you just took a moment to Decent human being, think about the selfish benefits for yourself there.

And let's just start there and, you know, and move forward.

But again, so awesome that you had that moment.

There's an episode we had with Herb Sargent and there, Oh my gosh.

So awesome.

Right.

To just have any kind of minute with Herb.

So awesome.

Every, if you're listening, definitely follow him on LinkedIn.

I'll link his episode in the show notes, but with their internship program over the summer, they take their guys.

Fresh out of high school or in college.

And they're like, all right, we're going to go grocery shopping.

Here's your budget.

Let's go, like, let's go see how you're going to spend your money.

Right.

Cause those are the real life skills that you don't learn in school.

But yeah, like this new generation, they're not going to stand for that.

They're not, if they see your egos, they're going to pick that apart.

And kids are brutal, right?

Like they will find a way to destroy your self esteem there.

Josh Nieves: And say, well,

Samantha: okay, I want to go back to one of your.

Earlier on in the episode, you were talking about how you go to these high schools, you really talk to them, you have these kind of aha moments.

And I want to put you on the spot a little bit.

Is there a kid or a story that just really stood out for you as far as those aha moments?

Or a kid that just, after speaking to you, then found this really cool opportunity?

Josh Nieves: Yeah, so I went to, and I'll be specific here, a lake region high school in Lakeland, Florida.

And you know, did my thing.

What I really like to do is I come in and I share my story, right?

How I came up and how someone came to my school and started talking about the trades, and that kind of piqued my interest and my grades weren't that good, right?

Because relatability is really important, right?

Especially when you're in an area.

That is what we would call today underserved.

Right?

So one young man had approached me, you know, I was I try to get kids engaged.

Right?

So I have merge with me.

And what I'll typically do is I'll say, alright, so whoever has a question for me, right?

I got something for you.

Right?

But at the end, they give it all out anyway.

So it's kind of like a bait.

I can't beat everyone.

Right?

Yeah.

So, I can kind of it.

Read the room very well and see who's engaged and who's not but I had for some reason I saw this one young man who just was fighting the urge to say something, right?

I could see he wanted to engage but I don't know for whatever reason he didn't, right?

After I had done the thing.

I'm kind of wrapping everything up.

I get it.

I get a tap on my shoulder and You know, he said something along the lines like Josh Everything you said sounds great, but it sounds too good to be true.

Like, opportunities like this don't come to people like me.

Right.

And I'll be honest with you.

Like it was very emotional for me at the time.

Right.

You know, the, from what I've learned about that area, there's a lot of children who are actually homeless and and I've never experienced that.

You know, I will say I grew up very blessed.

Right.

So first time hearing that in my life, even being in the five boroughs, I've never heard of the homeless thing.

So I went, oh man, and he's kind of telling me about a story about his home life.

And he's like, you know, this would be life changing for me, but I really, I'm not sure this is real.

Right?

So I said, listen, how about this?

How about we, let's set up a lunch together.

Let's sit down.

Obviously let your parents know.

didn't have parents or whoever you're, you know, we started tapping into personal details.

I said, whoever your guardian is, right?

I would love to take you out to lunch and I'm going to really go into the weeds about this if you're serious, right?

I always make it very clear that, you know, I want to make sure if I am going to do this and this person is invested as much as I am, right?

And he was, so, I will do whatever it takes.

To get him into the business, whatever that takes.

I speak with him on a regular basis.

He is to be graduating this year.

I will make sure if I need to do what that guy did to me, hold my hand and walk me to the subway.

I will hold his hand and walk him to the apprenticeship, whatever it takes, and I will make sure that his life is changed.

That, that is, this is all, this is really serving others is all I care about, right?

The construction industry is one thing, the electrical industry is another, but to see lives transformed, that's.

I mean, that's everything.

What else could you possibly want out of life?

So,

Samantha: wow.

I hope that

Josh Nieves: answers your question.

Samantha: Oh, that does.

I'm like, I'm about to tear up over here.

I'm like, when is his graduation?

I will fly out.

We will watch this kid walk across the stage to put your time where your mind is, right?

Like there's.

So many people that want to walk the talk, they're all bark, no bite.

They're talking all the fluffy, good words about people over process and all those things, but you're out there actually living it.

You're out there giving your time to someone who needs that mentor that who needs that big brother to help him get across that stage and see the possibilities there.

And that is how we change the industry, right?

Just that one person at a time and stories like that.

That's amazing.

If that doesn't convince you as a listener to want to work with Josh, I don't know what will, because that's that

Josh Nieves: life.

I'm a got that life.

Let's go bring them on.

Everybody.

Samantha: Yeah.

Go check out Josh.

We will definitely link his LinkedIn and his company website in the show notes, if you're interested in working with him.

But for those listeners that maybe they're not quite ready for that.

They're maybe a little skeptical or they're like, Oh, I still got to get some stuff together.

But, busting these myths have been a little bit of a wake up call for them.

What is the first thing that you would recommend they focus on to start having real progress?

Josh Nieves: So one thing that I typically do, right, this is what Miller has me do.

And this makes the absolute most sense.

So we need to put it all on the table.

Right.

We need to be very clear about what we are offering young people and a paycheck is not it.

They can get that from McDonald's.

They could get it from Dunkin Donuts.

I love McDonald's and I love Dunkin Donuts.

But if we're talking about accelerating in the construction industry, we need to put it all out on the table.

So one Pay scale, right?

Buc ee's.

I love what Buc ee's does down here.

You walk into the store, bam, you see all the opportunities there, right?

All the different roles boom.

And I did a post about that, right?

It's all right there.

No one's hiding anything.

These are your benefits.

This is what you could be making.

And these are what your the potential, these are the different potentials of Buc ee's.

Income, right?

So we put that on the table.

No one is lying about anything.

Full transparency, right?

So I think that's super important, right?

Money is important.

Money matters, right?

Secondly, culture.

Why are you different people?

You go in an interview.

Why would I hire you?

My question is, why should I work for you?

So culture, and having core values is super important, right?

Both the two companies that I've thrived with check both those boxes, right?

And then when we talk about retention, what are you offering?

What type of growth opportunities and career pathways are you offering?

Are you just offering me one role?

Okay, what happens when I'm in that role for five years, right?

Is there anything else for me after that?

It's all on the table, like I had mentioned before, what I typically do, is guys go, well, Josh, that all looks good, you know, but what happens after I'm a journeyman?

Right?

And then I pull out that other thing and I say, okay, these are the other career pathways.

This is what I did to get here today, business development, workforce development.

You could do it too, right?

So I own my own business, I have a 200 acre farm upstate, all these other things, and they're like, man, like, sign me up, right?

So I really think, Sam, just putting it all out on the table, being super transparent, giving them multiple career opportunities to grow, right?

And then just constantly training.

Right.

You need to pour into people.

You can't just say, Oh, come and work for me.

But what happens when they're in the role?

How can they grow within that role?

Continued education is super important.

Why?

Because times are changing and we're seeing it with AI.

Right.

So even in construction now, we're starting to adopt that.

So you need to be ahead of the time.

So you're going to need to pour into your people in that regard.

Samantha: I love the simplicity of all of that because really it's coming down to be a decent human being and don't try to hoard all the information and be some secret gatekeeper with the pay and what you're going to do and try to like manipulate people into staying with you.

Just lay it out for them and let them decide if they want to stay or not.

And if they don't, then.

Take the accountability to reflect and try to understand why they didn't want to stay and then fix that moving forward, right?

Josh Nieves: Yeah, we're not building rockets.

We're not, and it's, you know, I actually, I talk about it as like a, quite often Sam, as like a pizza, right?

I won't get into the weeds about that one, but the idea is like, you know, you need your dough, right?

You need your cheese and you need your sauce.

Right.

And then you need to let it cook.

So like, I typically talk about workforce development in that regard.

Right.

What does it take to make a perfect pie?

I like to think that the employers that I've worked for figured it out.

Like Miller Electric, people are knocking on the door to work with Miller.

People who are knocking on the door to work with EJ.

It's, it makes perfect sense to why they are as successful as they are today.

It's not, they're not building rockets.

They're not building rockets, but they prioritize people and then they invest in them.

It's no, it's perfect recipe.

Samantha: That's awesome.

And just to clarify, guys, don't just throw a pizza party for your employees.

That's not what they want.

Josh Nieves: No, don't be triggering me.

That's that don't go.

Let's are we going there?

Are we going?

Samantha: Oh, you know, just I'm just playing around with those triggers.

But you bring Josh out to explain what you need in the perfect pizza.

He's a New Yorker and this awesome workforce development manager, he will get you to that perfect pizza.

All right, Josh, thank you so much for joining us today.

It's been a lot of fun.

Josh Nieves: Thank you so much, Sam.

Thank you.