Dina's Blog

  • Graduating the value of a profession

    It’s graduation season. That means college grads are heading out to begin their exciting careers. But what’s more exciting to me is the men and women who are entering the service trades.

    I recently had the honor of recognizing our latest recipients for the Women in The Trades scholarship program that Dwyer Group supports. This marked the fifth anniversary of the program, which originally launched after I appeared on “Undercover Boss.” During my journey for the television show, I had the honor of seeing business on the front lines of several of Dwyer’s service brands. And I saw a wonderful opportunity for more women to get involved. The scholarships are aimed to help make that happen and educate a larger community about careers in the field.

    People can find meaningful work in the service trades. And we must value those people and the jobs that they do for customers.

    The service trades not only offer rewarding career opportunities, but customers also value those services in an important time of need when jobs are done in a timely and courteous fashion. On top of that, the industry needs more of those incredible skilled workers.

    As Dwyer Group CEO Mike Bidwell recently pointed out in a guest column in the Waco Tribune-Herald college graduates are exiting four-year colleges and universities with unprecedented debt only to compete for a limited number of jobs. Meanwhile, the skilled trades are hungry for workers and looking to hire. One of the things that society can do to bridge the gap is give the service trades the respect they deserve.

    What Mike pointed out, and what I witnessed first-hand out in the field, is that service professionals love to work with their hands. They love to be outside and meeting people every day. They are happiest when they are fixing problems and winning loyal customers by making something in their home perfect again. And being in that kind of business can be downright Neighborly and rewarding. When I look at it through that perspective, it’s a lot more attractive than standing in line for a desk job to pay back a hefty student loan.

    A career should be more than a paycheck.

    As students leave the classroom and enter the workforce, they are hungry for much more than a paycheck. They want to do something meaningful. For Dwyer Group’s service brands, much of that meaning comes in the Code of Values that support the company’s culture. We are not growing an organization of franchise owners and their service professionals just to fix things. We are giving them a roadmap to Live R.I.C.H. — following the themes of Respect, Integrity, Customer focus and Having fun in the process. That’s the kind of motto that people everywhere can support. And if the latest crop of graduates is looking to live and lead with values (after college, trade school and places in-between), we have a very bright future ahead.

    It’s graduation season. That means college grads are heading out to begin their exciting careers. But what’s more exciting to me is the men and women who are entering the service trades.

    I recently had the honor of recognizing our latest recipients for the Women in The Trades scholarship program that Dwyer Group supports. This marked the fifth anniversary of the program, which originally launched after I appeared on “Undercover Boss.” During my journey for the television show, I had the honor of seeing business on the front lines of several of Dwyer’s service brands. And I saw a wonderful opportunity for more women to get involved. The scholarships are aimed to help make that happen and educate a larger community about careers in the field.
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