Last month, I had the pleasure of attending the Plumbing Industry Leadership Coalition (PILC) meeting, which was held at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, Maryland. While there was a lot of great discussion on a number of important issues, one topic really caught my interest, and that was workforce development in this post-pandemic era.
The conversation began by sharing ideas and strategies for how to get young people interested in a career in the plumbing industry. Then, talks began in earnest about post-COVID realities and how employees desire to work remotely — impossible for plumbers, but something many engineering firms, rep agencies, code bodies and other industry organizations have found some success in, at least in a hybrid model. For one thing, it allows employers to cast a wider net for talent as they are no longer limited to the small fish in the local pond.