Andrew Wilson and Alex Phrommany were honored as the 2024 Plumbing Apprentice of the Year and HVAC Apprentice of the Year, respectively. 

Every year, more than 6,000 students participate in the SkillsUSA Championships, the nation's largest hands-on workforce development event.

Sponsored by Delta Faucet, the award recognizes the outstanding skill and achievements of those enrolled in a plumbing training program. It was presented Oct. 27 at PHCCCONNECT2023 in Cleveland, Ohio.

The SkillsUSA Championships occupy 1.79 million square feet (31 football fields or 41 acres) of floor space. More than 6,000 students competed in 110 contests. 

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the program, which has awarded more than $600,000 to plumbing apprentices across the United States and Canada since its inception.

The showcase demonstration will run from March 13-17. 

Seven students from the Harts Academy apprentice program installed a new complete system of water and sewer pipes for the project, which is renovating a home for a Tacoma family this holiday season.

Every industry in the United States is currently feeling the constraints of the labor shortage. Employers continue to struggle to bring in new workers and keep existing ones. Job openings far outnumber individuals looking for work — in March, there were 11.5 million jobs to fill, and not enough workers to fill them, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary.