As anyone who has recently had to hire a plumber or other skilled tradesman knows, finding a professional with the bandwidth to see you quickly in an emergency is fast becoming a difficult proposition.

That’s because the number of skilled trades workers in the market has steadily declined since the early 2000s - when the first of the Baby Boomers began retiring. In fact, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates there will be 42,600 openings for plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters projected for each year from 2022 to 2032.

As a plumbing contractor, you can either cross your fingers and hope you can find enough qualified employees to fill your openings, or you can take the bull by the horns and be proactive. That means rethinking how you recruit, providing a better pay structure and offering more apprenticeships in order to meet the coming demand.

How We Got Here

First things first, we need to consider how recession-resistant plumbing is and act accordingly.

Plumbing is an absolute need for most families and business owners. Having become accustomed to indoor plumbing as a society, the days of boiling water from an outside water source or using an outhouse are over.

Even when we’re “roughing it,” many weekend campers demand there be bathrooms and showers nearby.

So, we’re not going to lessen the work to get out of this situation. We are going to need plumbers, and we’re going to need them quickly.

The reason we’re not training plumbers—or anyone else in most of our skilled trades positions—is because we’ve spent decades telling our children that a college degree was the only way to earn money. We have stopped exposing them to how fulfilling a job in the trades can be, particularly for young people who like to work with their hands, or for those who don’t have the money to attend college.

But, with college becoming more and more expensive every year and with student loans fast becoming an albatross around the necks of students, many young people are reconsidering college’s return on investment.

You should also reconsider where you post jobs. Younger workers are more likely to become interested in your company by watching videos on TikTok or Instagram than they are by scanning help-wanted ads on Indeed or LinkedIn.

Always Be Recruiting

Now it is past time that we start reintroducing the trades to our high school students and start thinking of ways we can attract Gen Z to fill these roles.

If you’re still expecting to fill your open positions by simply posting a job title and a list of qualifications on traditional online job boards, you soon won’t be able to fill these jobs. You may already have this problem, particularly in smaller markets.

If you are a plumbing company owner or a critical manager, you need to get out from behind the desk and over to the local high schools.

High schools often have career days where engineering firms, the military, accounting agencies and others show up to promote their professions. You need to show up to tout your benefits, as well.

Have some of your most enthusiastic master plumbers on hand to answer questions about on-the-job training, pay, benefits and company culture. They need to be outfitted in nice, new uniforms and it doesn’t hurt to have your most attractive trucks parked on the school grounds.

You should also reconsider where you post jobs. Younger workers are more likely to become interested in your company by watching videos on TikTok or Instagram than they are by scanning help-wanted ads on Indeed or LinkedIn.

And, while Gen Zers want a good paycheck, they are also interested in a good work-life balance. This generation doesn’t recall a time without the world at their fingertips, so they know their value. They want to work for a company that spends its capital on their training and offers them flexibility in the hours they work.

In an era where more homeowners want your plumbers to schedule time when they don’t have to take off from work, having flexible hours for your employees means you can also run flexible hours for your customers.

Offer the Right Pay and Benefits

Even though Gen Z wants to work for a business that has a positive company culture and offers flexibility, they still want to be paid well for their service.

It helps if you consistently monitor your competitors to ensure you are paying as much as, if not more than, what new hires are earning at their companies.

Younger generations also want good benefits. And that doesn’t just mean healthcare insurance. They also want to be provided with opportunities for growth and improvement.

That means offering them training on new technologies within your industry, giving them days off for wellness visits, providing them with gym memberships and offering them a chance for promotion.

Most Gen Zers leave their first job within the first three years of their hire date. But, if you keep an eye on the salaries and benefits you offer your team, your retention rate could be one of the best.

Consider Apprenticeships and On-the-Job Training

Training the next generation of plumbers is nothing new at Rooter Hero. Through our Hero University, we pay our trainees while they learn their trade using hands-on projects.

But you don’t need to be a large plumbing contractor to consider this approach.

Even if you only need one or two employees, you can offer them an apprenticeship program that pairs them with a master plumber who can take them under his or her wing.

Or, you could consider partnering with a training platform that provides online and virtual reality options that not only help you train new employees but can also offer ongoing training for your top performers. These programs allow your team to learn at their own pace and can be used to meet training goals.

But, if you want to meet the demand of your client base, you are going to have to rethink how you recruit the next generation of plumbers. Sitting idly by will result in your inability to fill open positions, which creates an inability to grow your business.

Plumbing is a stable profession that can provide employees with a good salary and benefits, and a nice place to work. We just need to join together to sing its praises in new and interesting ways to the next generation.