Happy National Tradesman Day!

Happy National Tradesman Day! 🚽 🚚 🚧 🔨

National Tradesmen Day honors the men and women whose skills and hard work build America. We would like to take this opportunity to honor our tradesmen and thank them for their career choice.

And for everyone still searching for their career — and for all the young people who do not yet know what they want to do — consider attending a trade school and learning a trade.

Why we say that seriously

This is not just a nice sentiment on a holiday. The skilled trades are facing a genuine shortage. Experienced tradespeople are retiring faster than new ones are entering, and the work is not going away — every building in America needs heating, cooling, plumbing, and electrical service, and none of that can be shipped overseas or handled remotely.

For a young person weighing options, that adds up to something worth taking seriously.

What a trade actually offers

• You earn while you learn. Apprenticeships pay. Rather than accumulating debt for four years, you are drawing a paycheck from the start.
• Real demand. Skilled technicians are hard to find. That is a difficult market for employers and a good one for the tradesperson.
• It cannot be outsourced. Someone has to physically be in the crawl space or on the roof.
• Advancement is real. Apprentice to journeyman to lead technician to service manager — and plenty of tradespeople end up owning the company. That is exactly how this business has passed through three generations.
• The work is interesting. Every service call is a diagnostic problem. You are troubleshooting, not repeating the same task.
• You can see what you did. There is a real satisfaction in leaving a house warm that was cold when you arrived.

It is more technical than the stereotype suggests

Modern HVAC work involves refrigeration theory, electrical troubleshooting, combustion analysis, airflow and static pressure, building science, and increasingly sophisticated digital controls. NATE certification exists precisely because the competency required is substantial, and EPA certification is legally required to handle refrigerant.

Anyone who thinks the trades are the option for people who cannot handle school has not watched a good technician diagnose an intermittent control fault.

To our crew

To the technicians, installers, and sheet metal workers who keep this company running: thank you. You are in attics in July and crawl spaces in January. You take the calls at nights and on weekends when a family has no heat. You are the reason customers have trusted this name since 1951.

We appreciate you today and the other 364 days too.

If you are considering it

Talk to a local trade school or community college about HVAC, plumbing, or electrical programs, and ask contractors in the area about apprenticeship opportunities. Most of us would rather train someone who genuinely wants to learn than fill a seat.

Buffington Brothers has been in Poplar Bluff since 1951, and we are always glad to hear from people interested in learning this trade properly. Reach us at (573) 785-6768 or stop by 110 North Riverview Drive.