[hardscaping4u]

i was wondering how most of you guys get your workers for the season. this seams to be the biggest problem i have. i have tried quite a few different things and in the end i end up with about the same result--problems.

i've had mexicans/guatemalans or other foreign country work for me, my proble here is that 1 in 30 seems to be legal, plus i don't really speak enough spanish, they dont speak english, and there is always the problem of picking them up and dropping them off everyday.

i did have an american guy who really know what he was doing, good guy, everything ran great that year, did alot of work, things were good. problem--he went out started his own company.

then i had a couple of college kids, this wasn't that bad, i ended up letting the one guy go because he just wasn't a fit for the company, the other guy styed all season, worked hard, but ended going back to school.

i have also placed ads in newspapers which usually ends up with about 5 calls that are from guys in halfway house who are 35-45 years old with no transportation and criminal records.

dont what other avenues to go down, any suggestions let me know

i have posted an ad on this site too.
we are strictly a hardscaping install company doing pavers/retaining walls, we dabble here and there with other work but thats our focus.

[Bill Schwab]

Hardscaping4U:

Your dilema is no different than anywhere else in the country. At first we got one of our oldest employees from a street corner, and you're right about 1-4 had green cards and of those less than half were above board. A few months would go by, even after we called the Social Security hot line to check that the card had the correct name.

Then, there was the drivers license issue. That was solved as soon as we found one with a D/L, could speak English and had scruples. We knew at that point he was trainable and would be our point man in the future. It took about 4 months for him to learn what I needed that enables me to do my work during the day and though I am on jobsites daily as part of my routine, there are days I don't need to be.

From him, we got most of the rest of the guys we have now and by using him as our example, the other guys learned that if you want to make more money here, you need to speak English, get a D/L, and grow their knowledge base. Unfortunately you are in the most frustrating spot to be in, where you are doing all the running, and, wear many hats as we all do in the early stages of business.

All I can offer you is to continue searching until you find that guy who speaks the language and drives, and is legal. You are then posed with another challenge. Being you are located ina spot where yor winters are graced with that white stuff, once this person becomes who you want him to be for your company, your next challenge will be to keep him busy all winter and steadily paid. Otherwise, every spring you are going to be singing the same song.

[cutntrim]

Not sure how it works there, but this spring I'm looking to hire at least one apprentice. Landscape Ontario (Provincial landscape organization) is pushing hard for certification of landscapers and one of the initiatives is education through apprentice programs in Ontario colleges.

I suggested apprentice training for a couple of my own employees, but they've been with me 3 & 4 years, and felt they didn't need to learn what they already feel they know. But there's no guarantee they'll be back this spring (never is), so I'm looking to hire an apprentice(s) anyway.