5 Reasons Hiring Young is Good for Your Business — and the Industry

From RWC

With five generations now represented in the workforce today, it’s crucial skilled trades professionals consider the role of age diversity in business. With many pros exiting the labor force after retirement and new talent needed to fill the gap, focusing on bringing emerging professionals into plumbing is more important than ever.

As Millennials and Generation Z join the trades, leveraging their unique skills can improve your business and further the industry. Here are a few reasons investing in new plumbers is worth it.

The demand for plumbers is projected to grow 14% from 2018 to 2028, much higher compared to the 5% growth average for all professions, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This demand stems in part from a retiring workforce, the bureau states. But the median age for the trade is about 40 years old, according to Data USA (https://datausa.io/profile/soc/472150/#about), and when it comes to the larger industry of construction of which plumbing is a part, only 9% of the workforce is under 25, according to the bureau.

To keep plumbing and other skilled trades effective, recruiting young professionals is crucial. Many institutions are promoting the trades, and individual businesses have a role to play too. Make industries appealing by participating in localized educational outreach, offering strong apprenticeships, having a welcoming work culture and more.

Technology changes so rapidly that though it’s possible to learn as you go, hiring professionals raised as digital natives puts your business at an advantage. Millennial and Gen Z plumbers may help introduce tech solutions like project management software and other new ways of running business that gives you an edge over competitors who are still using antiquated methods.

Put simply, adding pros at different stages of life, experience and age into the ranks can benefit your plumbing business since age diversity has been proven to both improve individual productivity and organizational performance, according to a SHRM Foundation report.

Along with excelling at the bread-and-butter work of installations, maintenance and repairs, new professionals can wear other hats too. Because Millennials and Gen Z are accustomed to managing an online presence, they can bring digital experience and knowledge to the business, positioning you to better reach more potential customers.

Plumbers are craftspeople and problem-solvers alike. And when it comes to finding and solving problems, different ages bring different skills to the table to address a challenge from multiple angles.

Older adults may plan actions quickly, but they take more time to execute them, according to a Concordia University study. Meanwhile, younger adults are faster at adapting to an unexpected change in the middle of an everyday event, the study shows.

Your ability to solve problems—as well as how you solve them—changes with age too. A study in Gerontology Journal found that older adults often rely on knowledge for everyday problem solving, whereas young adults tend to rely mostly on inductive reasoning and task-related information. That’s not to say one way is better or worse, but having both skills on your team rather than just one can benefit your business.

If they’re just starting, younger pros—like other professionals first entering the workforce—might not require the same hiring cost as someone who went to a trade school or with real-world experience. That’s not to say there won’t be other costs to hiring a plumber that is still learning. Apprenticeships and training are up-front investments of time and resources you’ll want to consider.

Adding talent to your team also chips away at the cost of labor shortages. Most contractors agree this is the largest expense they will incur on today’s job sites. But with more help, you spend less time on the job, which decreases labor costs.

With these benefits in mind, you can begin to work to encourage young people to join your trade. For a few suggestions on how your business can take action, check out this short guide at: https://www.contractormag.com/home/article/20874674/encouraging-young-people-to-join-the-trades.

RWC is a market leader and manufacturer of water control systems and plumbing solutions for residential, commercial and industrial applications. The RWC portfolio includes industry-leading brands: SharkBite® push-to-connect plumbing solutions; HoldRite® engineered plumbing and mechanical solutions; Cash Acme® control valves; John Guest® fittings and fluid dispense products and StreamLabs™ smart water technologies.