As we worked on our annual State of the Industry (SOI) report (see page 16) and the accompanying SOI Roundtable article (see page 10), an interesting theme began to emerge, as the locksmithing community transitions to this next generation of tech savvy locksmiths with business acumen and a passion for helping their fellow locksmith.
“There's going to be a big silver tsunami, where lots of people with gray hair like me are retiring, but with this turnover there is also opportunity,” says Glenn Younger, owner, Grah Safe and Lock in the SOI roundtable discussion. “And the next generation of folks – and I'm thinking of the sort of locksmith influencers like Chad Lingafelt and Wayne Winton – are trying to share the business side of their knowledge and that’s what I'm excited about.”
Although he did not realize it at the time of our discussion (as the results had not been tallied yet), succession planning is something that finally seems to be on locksmiths’ radar.
For example, in our SOI Report, it looks like many retirement-age locksmiths are focusing more on this area, with a spike in the number saying that “Succession/transition planning” – up to 18.1% this year from 7.4% last year – is a top concern (see page 21). Add to that the increased focus on Employee training/certification (up to 18.7% this year compared with 15.6% last year), and we are seeing a push to create that next generation of locksmiths to take businesses into this bold new world of tech-driven hardware.
As Younger astutely points out, the next generation of locksmiths is defining what the future of the industry will look like, which is exciting stuff from what we have seen already. “There really are some smart people in this next generation, and there seems to be the beginning of what I am seeing as another generation saying, ‘How do we run this business better?’ Part of it’s technical, but part of it is just making good business decisions.”
Here at Locksmith Ledger, we want to do our part in helping to identify and continue to give a voice to this next generation of locksmiths who are reshaping the industry. Toward that goal, we are launching our inaugural Rising Stars Award program, with those chosen in this first year’s class to appear in the October issue, 2025. The goal of this award program, which follows on the heels of our Legends of the Locksmith Industry Award that debuted this year, is to celebrate and prop up these young professionals, and continue to help build this already strong community of young locksmiths leading the way.
