The Help Wanted Sign Nobody Reads

Cedar Valley News
January 28, 2026
The Help Wanted Sign Nobody Reads
By: Lars Olson
From the fictional town of Cedar Valley, where characters from Quiet Echo continue to respond to real-world events.

Eighty-nine percent of small business owners trying to hire right now say they have few or no qualified applicants. That number comes from the National Federation of Independent Business. It should stop us in our tracks.

One-third of small business owners have jobs they cannot fill. Not because they will not pay. Not because the work is beneath anyone. Because the workers do not exist.

I run a hardware store. I have spent my life stocking shelves, mixing paint, and helping folks find the right screw for the job. I know every aisle by heart. I know what it means to open the doors before dawn and lock them after dark. There is honor in that work. There always was.

But somewhere along the way, we forgot to tell our children.

The numbers are sobering. The construction industry needs to attract half a million new workers this year just to keep up with demand. By 2027, America will be 550,000 plumbers short. Nearly 30 percent of union electricians are nearing retirement. In construction, more than one in five workers is 55 or older.

These are not just statistics. This is your neighbor waiting three months for someone to fix her furnace. This is the young family who cannot afford a home because there are not enough hands to build one. This is the small contractor who turns down work because he cannot find anyone to show up.

For two generations, we pointed every kid toward college. We called it “the only path.” We did not mean to diminish the trades. But diminish them we did. The guidance counselors steered bright kids away from shop class. The parents smiled at the nephew who got into law school and changed the subject when their own son wanted to learn welding.

Now the bills are coming due.

But here is what gives me hope. The tide is turning. Trade school enrollment rose 16 percent last year—the highest since 2018. Young people are discovering something their parents forgot to mention: skilled trades pay.

Master plumbers now earn a median of $82,700, a 21 percent jump in a single year. Electricians, HVAC technicians, and welders are out-earning many college graduates, and they are doing it without six figures of student debt.

There is an old story about a homeowner who called a plumber to fix a leak. When she got the bill, she protested: “$150 an hour? My husband is a doctor, and he only charges $125!” The plumber nodded. “I know. That is what I charged when I was a doctor.”

It is a joke. But not by much.

There is something else young people are discovering too. You cannot outsource a plumber to another country. You cannot replace a carpenter with a screen. A house still needs a roof. A furnace still needs repair. These jobs are not going anywhere.

In Cedar Valley, Caleb Mercer runs a carpentry business alongside his work as mayor. He takes on apprentices—young men and women who want to learn. He teaches them to measure twice and cut once. He teaches them to show up on time and finish what they start. He teaches them that work done well is its own reward.

That is what working hands and working hearts look like. It is a man teaching a trade. It is a young person choosing a path that builds something real. It is a community that honors the people who keep the lights on and the water running.

If you know a young person wondering what comes next, tell them about the trades. Not as a fallback. As a calling. The help wanted sign is still in the window. And the work waiting on the other side of it matters.

This editorial is part of the fictional Cedar Valley News series. While the people and town are fictional, the national events they reflect on are real.

Want to know the full story behind Cedar Valley? Teresa, Caleb, Dan, and the community you’ve come to know in these editorials first came together in Quiet Echo: When Loud Voices Divide, Quiet Ones Bring Together. Discover how a small town found its way from fear to fellowship—one quiet act of courage at a time. Available on Amazon: https://bit.ly/3ME4nSs

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