Trades Shortage Case Study - Jim Li

How did you get started in the trades?

It takes a special kind of person to be in the trades; you have to deal with a lot of unforeseen situations which you have to solve when the situation presents itself. You either love it or you don’t.

School was never for me. They never encouraged me to go into the trades, although, looking back, I’m not sure they encouraged me in anything.

I’ve been involved in renovation from an early age. Even in shop class, when everyone was making coffee tables or jewellery boxes, I made a bird feeder!

My father moved around a lot, he would fix homes and sell them, so I paid attention to what he did. This meant that I felt able to start my own renovation business once my son was born.

Before that, I was in the auto industry for 14 years, although I was always earning an income from renovation; whenever I bought a house I would immediately renovate the basement and rent it out.

What do you enjoy most about the work you do?

The most rewarding part of my job is being able to create something for my clients, and help their dreams and visions come true. Creating something you’ve worked on and seeing results isn’t a feeling that you can just buy, it takes hard work. From communicating back and forth, to organizing and delivering exactly what your client envisioned, from a drawing to reality, it’s a long process.

Another part of my job that I love is the constant change in scenery. After each job is done, we move to somewhere new. I’m hardly in the same place, which means there’s always new horizons and challenges ahead.

What are the biggest challenges for being in the skilled labour industry at the moment?

Trust is crucial when it comes to any relationship between the client and contractor. You have to trust me in your house and that I will complete the job for you and I have to trust you that you will pay me. I’ve heard many stories about contractors taking deposit money from their clients, and never showing up or doing very minimal work. This creates a bad reputation for the real contractors that actually do care about this industry. My quality and services will never be compromised. That's why I don't take my final payment until my clients are fully satisfied.

What advice would you give to someone who’s thinking about getting into the trades?

For anyone who wants to become a tradesman, my advice is that you learn as much as you can. Listen, watch, get your hands dirty, and know a bit of everything. But, specialize in one trade, be great at it, do it right and love what you do. Once you find what you love, your passion, it's a play day, never a work day.