Working With Your Hands

Believe it or not, there are still some job areas where companies cannot find enough good employees. Many of these unfilled jobs require people to be able to work with their hands:

Paul McNarney, owner of The Mower Shop in Fishers, Ind., says he has been looking for a good lawnmower mechanic so he can guarantee a one-week turnaround on repairs. He received only two responses to an Internet ad he placed a couple of months ago, even though the job can generate income of more than $40,000 a year, depending how many mowers the mechanic repairs. Similar ads he placed before the recession attracted more than a dozen candidates, he says.

"My thought was that in a cr— economy I could probably find somebody good because a lot of people were looking," says Mr. McNarney, who has been in business for 13 years selling everything from simple lawnmowers to big riding models for large properties. "I didn't find anybody."

A salary of $40,000+ isn't bad these days. But schools rarely offer "shop classes" or other classes that teach kids to work with their hands. It's up to parents to do this.....or grandparents if the parents can't work with their hands.