Tapping in to pipeline of scarce trade skills - By JIM STANTON, Edinburgh Evening News, UK
THESE days it could be jocularly regarded as being tougher to pull off than a break-in at the Bank of England, and more precious than a skipload of gold.
Getting a plumber is hard enough, but the scarcity of skilled tradespeople has also substantially increased their value as a business commodity.
Why else would a City bond trader and an international timber dealer dump their high-paid jobs, head to Edinburgh in May 2004 and launch a plumbing business, when plumbing and running a business were two subjects they knew absolutely nothing about.