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Want to know how desperate Carmen Rago is to recruit fresh blood for his cabinet-making company?
Just walk into Rago Millwork and Supplies, 16010 118 Ave., and announce that you have some woodworking experience - any woodworking experience.
Rago will drop whatever he's doing to sit down and try to talk you into working for him.
"That's how desperate it is," said Rago, 40, who is particularly anxious to recruit apprentices onto his 25-man team that builds cupboards, doors and other wood fixtures for schools, hospitals and offices.
"But people sit across from me and we start talking numbers and they just shake their heads and walk out.
'They say why would I make (a starting wage) of $10 or $12 an hour when I am already getting $16 an hour stocking shelves?"
Rago's predicament is just one example of the skilled trades shortage that's being felt across Canada. The west is particularly hard hit as Alberta's oilsands projects and Vancouver's preparations for the 2010 Olympics fuel the construction boom.
Pipefitters, glaziers, carpenters, drywallers and plumbers are also all in big demand, according to a recent survey by the Merit Contractors Association, a non-profit organization representing 1,000 construction companies.
Consequently, the question of how to attract youngsters into the building trades is being hotly debated.
Now there's an unlikely lobbyist - TV design queen Debbie Travis - producer and host of a new 10-episode reality show, From the Ground Up, premiering on Global (channel 8 locally) Sunday at 7 p.m.
She blames the skills shortage on the 20-somethings with their inflated expectations and lack of work ethic.
"The main problem is the attitude of this young entitled generation that everything is their right," said Travis, best known for decorating shows such as Facelift.
"They have money, they don't want to leave home. They want to come out of university and go straight into a good job. They think the trades are beneath them and aren't willing to pay their dues."
From The Ground Up follows a dozen guys and gals as they build a swanky mansion in Oakville, Ont., under the guidance of Travis and a team of 400 craftsmen. At the end, one of the "proteges" will walk away with $250,000 from the sale of the house.
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It's a great deal more entertaining than simply watching paint dry, promised Travis in a recent phone interview.
The ragtag group includes a lawyer, a former beauty queen, a college dropout, a rich kid and a debt collector who are "bored rigid and miserable."
They're taken out of their cosy nests and put to work digging ditches and cleaning portable toilets. Travis promises plenty of fireworks and gritty talk as some of the proteges balk at doing menial tasks. There's even some sex as things heat up in the communal dorm.
Think Big Brother meets The Apprentice meets Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.
"It was 10 times worse than I ever thought," said Travis. "One guy was complaining about the laundry service on the set so I fetched him some washing powder. Later he attacked me and said 'How dare you tell me to do my own laundry.' And I said 'Wash your knickers in the bathtub like everyone else.' He was appalled."
Still Travis concedes that she feels a bit sorry for them.
"This is the generation that has it all, except a future. It's sad, really."
Travis knows she can't turn the 12 young people into master carpenters or plumbers overnight. But she hopes she made a difference during the five weeks of filming.
"My mission is to instil some of my passion into what I believe is a rather disillusioned 20-something generation and show them that there is a great future in the trades."
Back in Edmonton, cabinetmaker Rago doesn't agree that youngsters have a lousy attitude.
"I believe it's all about the money."
Once trained, a qualified cabinetmaker can earn up to $25 an hour and be confident of a stable future. But youngsters aren't prepared to start at the bottom of the ladder and work their way up, said Rago.
"I put the onus on mill shop owners. We have to get together to create a better package so we can pay more and attract young people into the industry."