The Lost Art Of the Skilled Trades · 2026-06-23 · 26 min
Glenda Rahn, Director of Workforce Development at Merit Ontario, reveals why skilled trades companies lose new apprentices in the first 30 days - and what to do about it. Every contractor says the same thing: "We can't find people." But Glenda Rahn has seen something different on the ground - and it's not a recruitment problem. It's a retention problem. Companies bring in new hires who are excited on day one and then fail to give them what they need to stay: clear expectations, a real mentor, and a reason to belong. Glenda is the Director of Workforce Development at Merit Ontario, where she works directly with construction contractors and apprentices across Ontario to fix the workforce pipeline from the inside out. She's spent years doing individual coaching calls with candidates, building mentorship frameworks, and having hard conversations with employers about what they're doing wrong - and what actually works. If you're a contractor struggling to keep new hires, a young person trying to break into the trades, or an industry leader who wants to understand Gen Z on the jobsite, this episode is packed with practical insight you can put to work today.
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