A Recruiting Frenzy… for Plumbers
Despite a boom in enrollment, skilled-trade professions still face a talent shortage of 1.3 million workers annually. How that may squash corporate growth.
More people are training to become electricians, HVAC operators, mechanics, and other skilled-trade professionals as a career hedge against AI—yet their growing numbers still may not be enough to keep up with demand.
Despite the boom in enrollment in recent years, far more professionals are leaving than entering skilled trades. According to a new study, there are three job openings for every trained person in skilled trades, creating a shortage of 1.3 million professionals annually at current enrollment rates. And while the corporate world has been focused on upskilling people for AI, the shortage of skilled-trade professionals could be an even bigger talent-recruiting challenge in the years ahead: For most Fortune 500 firms, growth depends on having enough people to build everything from data centers to manufacturing facilities. “Every manufacturing client bemoans the shortage of talent,’ says Justin Ripley, a senior client partner in the Global Industrial practice at Korn Ferry. “It’s a huge constraint on growth for their businesses and those that they supply.”
And it’s setting off a recruiting frenzy of sorts, with firms looking for ways to lock up skilled-trade professionals. As an example of the lengths some firms are going to, Ripley cites a welding firm that offered a $50,000 signing bonus to recruit a candidate away from an aerospace company. Some companies are going beyond signing bonuses—offering to pay for everything from relocation to career-development courses—in order to retain pipe fitters, plumbers, and other skilled-trade professionals. Even private equity has gotten into the act, buying independent pest control firms, HVAC, garage-door manufacturers, and other skilled-trade businesses, says Danielle Smith, a senior client partner in the Global Financial Officers practice at Korn Ferry.
To be sure, data centers and other infrastructure projects are partly responsible for the rising number of people pursuing skilled-trade careers. Data shows that two-year institutions focused on skilled professions grew attendance by 11.7% last year—their third straight year of double-digit growth. The rising costs of a traditional four-year college degree, along with its decreasing value in the labor market, also factor heavily into the equation. “It’s getting harder to land that first job out of college because of AI,” says Jenna Young, a senior partner in the Culture, Change, and Communications practice at Korn Ferry. “People are looking at where skills are needed, and to a lot of them right now, trade schools look like the right long-term career path.”
Still, firms are going to need to recruit vastly more people into skilled trades to fill out the talent pipeline. According to the study’s projections, the current shortage will likely get worse, not least because more than 25% of skilled-trade workers are entering their retirement years. Smith says the current labor environment, along with the uncertainty around AI, gives firms a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to attract talent early. Efforts to build partnerships with schools by creating apprenticeships, broadening the talent pool through diversity initiatives, and emphasizing stability and career growth are well underway, of course. But with skilled-trade professionals accounting for about 20 million jobs—about 9% of the total US workforce—and 2.1 million openings annually, Ripley says that more will be required in order to meet long-term labor needs. “The investment dollars coming into skilled trades make these professions sexier than they’ve been historically,” he says, “and part of every plant manager’s job now is to figure out how to capitalize on that with talent.”
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