05/04/2005
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(Right to left) Joe Bohm; Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (Ill.-14); Congresswoman Deborah Pryce (Ohio-15), chairwoman of the House Republican Conference and Congressman David Dreier (Calif.-26) urge action to spur job creation. |
CONTACT: Michelle Dimarob, (202) 554-9000
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Maryland small-business owner Joe Bohm, a member of the National Federation of Independent Business, today joined members of the U.S. House of Representatives to call attention to legislative action taken by the House to spur job creation and keep America's economy growing.
Bohm is the co-owner of Horizon Builders, Inc., a residential custom contractor with more than 90 employees in Crofton, Md. During the press conference, Bohm said that he is ready to hire, but is having a hard time finding qualified and well-trained employees.
"I would hire ten people tomorrow if I could find them," Bohm said. "But the struggle I face is that it is getting harder and harder to find a quality workforce because there seems to be less emphasis on vocational education. Construction is a 'hands on' business, so I am always looking for employees who are really interested in learning a craft that they can turn into a lifelong career."
In the NFIB Research Foundation's 2004 edition of Small Business Problems and Priorities, NFIB members ranked "locating qualified employees," as the 11th most critical problem they face amongst the top 75 problems facing small-business owners.
"As America's leading job creators, small-business owners have and continue to play an important role in growing our economy," said Dan Danner, NFIB executive vice president of public policy and political. "But we often hear members say they find the labor market exceptionally challenging because they cannot find qualified employees to fill vacant positions. As a result, they are forced to go without much-needed employees. Creating a climate so that employees are prepared to enter into a variety of careers is critical to ensuring that our nation's Main Street employers have a workforce in place to continue moving our economy forward."
