Employment question for the Denver Folks

[greatplns]

We're looking at a project in the Denver Metropolitan area and I'm trying to get a feel for the labor market in your area. What would it require pay wise to get some (12-15) dedicated, drug free, good driving record, punctual people? I would entertain both an hourly rate and a salary rate. Of course we'd be willing to train. It's in the fiber optic communications career field. Looking at a 3+ year project from Castle Rock to N. Denver. It's not our project yet, but we have been to a couple meetings and it looks like we have the opportunity if we can staff it. Thanks.

[tedlovesjeeps71]

Lots of vets in Colorado. Lots of us looking for decent jobs. I think you'll be able to find more than enough as long as you look at the right folks.


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[Tatsadasayago]

That's a long UG run!

[greatplns]

Yeah, the initial plan is 2,460 miles of combined Underground and aerial, being about an 80/20 split. What I'm looking for is what wages would it take to make it worth it. Keep in mind that this would be a skilled labor position. It would take a year to get people properly trained. I'm not looking to have a high turn over rate. It's always been my position if I can't pay people enough for them to stay, it's not worth me doing the project. I'm always interested in expanding the company, but with a high turnover rate, this job could kill a company. So back to the basic question, what hourly rate would a guy like me need to pay to have a quality person who's willing to stay with it. This job is extremely frustrating to start with. You think you get it, but the big picture can be illusive. Initially, mistakes are common, but eventually it works out. It's getting past this awkward phase that's the problem. So what are you Denver guys thinking?

And by the way, I'm a huge advocate of hiring vets. Half my company is vets. I'm a veteran. I just want to do right by everyone, pay a fair, livable wage, and be able to keep the company growing. Thanks for your help.

[tedlovesjeeps71]

Back when I did construction I was making $20.00 an hour. That was in the late 90s-mid 2000s. I had skills and understood how to be at work, on time, working. I think that's one aspect many (but sadly not all) Vets bring to the table. As I've been job searching I've seen that wages for similar jobs I used to do run a little less out here even today. I can't guess at what type of turn over rate GCs run into or what level of unskilled labor they hire frequently. I'm not able to do a lot of the things I used to thanks to GI Joe back issues. It sucks. But I think if you get a good team together, pay them well and take care of them, you will succeed.
My best friend is an electrician (after almost 20 years as a cop). He found one of those good companies and both parties benefit. He's in school to get his journeyman license, school paid for by the company, and he is the best student in school. So good in fact that the company threw him a party after he passed his last series of tests.
Money is important but showing application goes a good distance too.
I don't know what sort of skills your looking for so maybe you can offer a description of work/positions. From there I would take a stab at what kind of wages you should aim at... If you like.


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[greatplns]

Kinda hard to explain in a post. We splice fiber optics. Join pieces of glass by welding essentially. So our job consists of several parts. Getting the cable ready to splice, bonding, grounding, putting cases on that protect our finished project. Then there's the actual splicing. joining the correct strands of glass together, then there's the testing and certification. Each is an independent skill set. The only real disqualifier is color blindness. The rest can be taught in most cases. Our work is not physically demanding, but focus and concentration is required. Hand eye coordination is critical. Each strand of glass is smaller in diameter than a human hair. The cables would range in size from 4 strands to 1,728 strands. Math skills are helpful.

[230ohc]

I think 23 hourly with benefits is entry level pay for skilled laborers, mas y menos. dependant upon benefits. Typically that's set up with union trust.
You might look in to local labor union for those areas.

[derf]

Denver cost of living is pretty high. And overall unemployment is low throughout Colorado (3.0% compared to the 4.7% for the whole country). You'll need to bump up your salary a little bit if you want to be competitive and get quality people. The low unemployment rate means that everyone who really wants to work is not having much difficulty finding a job. You'd need to give them incentive to leave what they have now to work for you.

It's do-able. But it'll probably cost you.

[greatplns]

That's about where I figured it would be. I'll put the pencil to it and see if it make sense. Might be too many hand in the cookie jar before it gets to us to make this one worthwhile. It's not starting until Nov. anyway. I know, November in Denver for underground construction. Makes no sense to me either. Thanks for the responses.