For more than a year, Michael Covert has been trying to fill several mechanic positions at his heating and air conditioning business, Covert Aire, in Bluffton.
In spite of a national search and pay of up to $29 an hour, he hasn't been able to fill four of the jobs, which entail servicing HVAC units. Covert is also willing to hire entry-level candidates with no experience or certifications for about $18 an hour.
His problem is not unique. Several business owners in the Hilton Head Island and Bluffton area say they are struggling to fill trade jobs in spite of offering competitive pay.
The shortage of workers could mean longer delays for residents in need of construction and repair work — or higher prices.
"A shortage of skilled workers causes a ripple effect through the entire economy," said Brian Flewelling, a Beaufort County Council member. "If you need a bricklayer to put in your sidewalk or driveway — it is going to cost you more. It increases the cost of living from top to bottom."
The area's need for skilled labor is likely to increase, exacerbating the problem. For example, about 3,000 new homes are planned for Latitude Margaritaville Hilton Head, a Hardeeville development planned for roughly 2,700 acres off U.S. 278.
"Real estate and construction is booming, and the lack of skilled workers is humongous," said Ricky Hubbard, owner of Palmetto Pool Contracting, who pays entry employees a $35,000 annual salary to build concrete swimming pools.
Four positions at Hubbard's company have remained open since April 1, he said. He has a three-month backlog of swimming pools he needs to build and has hired subcontractors from the Jacksonville and Charleston areas to help.
"I would much rather be doing it in-house," Hubbard said, adding that employees can advance to a supervisor position making $45,000 to $55,000 after about three years of work at the company.
While low pay and a lack of affordable housing is fueling a shortage of hospitality works on Hilton Head Island, those factors don't appear to be causing the shortage of trade employees.
"I don't blame this on housing," said Covert, also a member of Beaufort County Council. "All of my current employees have bought houses as they worked for me."
Rather, Beaufort County is part of a national trend. More than 70 percent of construction firms nationally reported difficulty filling skilled labor positions in 2017, according to a survey conducted by the Associates General Contractors of America and Autodesk. The positions included carpenters, plumbers, painters, cement masons and bricklayers.
And the pool of people looking for such work is small. Beaufort County's unemployment rate for March was just 3.9 percent, according to data from the Lowcountry Council of Governments.
"It is strenuous work," Hubbard said of building pools "Some people can't handle that. They go out and look for something else that comes close to that pay but is in an office."
For too long, many have believed a four-year college degree was necessary to earn a good living, Covert said.
"It was the thought process that everyone had to go to college," Covert said. "Now there is a demand for skilled workers."
Leigh Copeland, spokeswoman for the Technical College of the Lowcountry, agrees a community mindset is feeding the skilled labor shortage.
"When we talk about workforce shortage — that shortage is here," Copeland said. "It is rampant in the state of South Carolina and across the nation."
"We have to change the perception about these (skilled) jobs," Copeland said.
The college offers more than 90 programs in a variety of career pathways, Copeland said, some of which reward graduates with jobs earning $40,000 to $60,000. She said the school also works with local businesses to create programs specific to their needs.
S.C. residents can also receive lottery tuition funding, which is not based on income or need, Copeland said, making a full semester cost about $1,200. Many students also qualify for additional financial aid.
Flewelling said the county also can take steps to help.
People working in the skilled trades often have enough money to purchase a home, but the options for homes in the $175,000 to $215,000 range are limited, he said. This often means families must live in the outlying areas of the county.
For this reason, the county is missing more than just skilled laborers but an entire generation of residents who make communities vibrant, he said.
"We have a lot of young people and a lot of elderly people (in the county)," Flewelling said. "We are missing this huge chunk of people from 25 to 45 years old."
"They are the people who volunteer to coach T-ball," Flewelling said. "They do reading programs at our schools. They are moms and dads."
There are a few things the county can do to attract this population, Flewelling said.
"One of those things is trying to build those roads to allow them to travel a greater distance quicker," Flewelling said. "This way they can still get home and be involved in their children's lives."
This story was originally published April 28, 2018 7:25 AM.