Don't Hire Plumbers. Grow Your Own.

In-house training is unusual in the plumbing industry, but a built-in labor pool helps this plumber combat the acute labor shortage, and keeps the plumbing trade alive.

Jan 05, 2015 | by Ken Wysocky |

Drain Cleaning Training/Education Licensing Employee Residential Plumbing Ohio

82A5183B Web — The Waterworks’ management includes (from left) Vice President of Industrial Operations Jim Mathews, President David Specht, Vice President of Commercial and Residential Operations John O’Connor and Restoration Division Director Jeff Foster, in front of several of their company vehicles in Columbus, Ohio.

One of the biggest challenges faced by plumbing and drain cleaning contractors such as The Waterworks in Columbus, Ohio, is a lack of qualified young workers. The bottom line: Young people are less and less interested in pursuing skilled trades as a career.According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. currently needs 29 percent more HVACR and 21 percent more plumbing technicians — a total of more than 100,000 skilled workers. Among the estimated 500,000 plumbers in the United States alone, demand is expected to rise 10 percent by 2016. But at the same time, more than one-third

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