5 Steps to Overcoming the Skilled Labor Shortage in CIPP Repair
Skilled labor is at a premium in many industries, but the skilled labor shortage in CIPP repair is making it difficult to meet the increasing demand for cost-effective, eco-conscious repairs. But with the right support and resources, your company could overcome this challenge quickly.
What’s Causing the Skilled Labor Shortage in CIPP Repair?
While the job market is seeing fewer openings in many fields, skilled labor careers are still struggling to find candidates with the right qualifications and experience for the work they need to do. The bigger picture shows some significant challenges that will need to be addressed, but the CIPP repair industry has a few specific challenges unique to the field.
Industry-Wide Issues
Plumbing, HVAC, and construction are all experiencing shortages in skilled labor. Trends across all industries stem from many prevalent factors:
Recessions in the Economy: the 2008 recession forced many trade-based businesses to cut jobs or close, forcing skilled laborers out of these industries. Those effects are still felt today.
An Aging Workforce: 22% of today’s workforce is set to retire, but incoming replacements won’t be able to fill all the vacancies.
College Over CTE: For much of the past 40 years, young people have been pushed toward college degrees more than career and technical schools or apprenticeships, leaving the trades with fewer workers year after year.
Funding Cuts: state and federal funding cuts have impacted trade education programs, and the pandemic made the cuts even worse. Beyond formal education opportunities, the industry has also seen a reduction in apprenticeship programs over the past few decades.
Issues Specific to CIPP Repair
The skilled labor shortage in CIPP repair is caused by additional factors along with the issues in other labor industries.
Specialized Skills: few plumbing programs offer training for CIPP repair methods, so few plumbers know how to provide CIPP services.
Smaller and Less Familiar Service: even with its wide variety of applications, CIPP repair is still a relatively new and small market.
5 Steps CIPP Repair Businesses Can Take to Change the Trend
If CIPP repair companies want to increase their hiring pool, they can look at a few different tactics to help encourage job seekers to look into this career field. While wages and benefits are important, overcoming barriers like education and training hold equal value in finding good employees.
1: Wages
Liveable income is becoming harder to find in many industries, but skilled labor fields typically offer competitive salaries. As demand for skilled labor increases, businesses will need to offer higher wages to encourage growth.
2: Benefits
Businesses that can offer health and lifestyle benefits can attract more, and better, employees. Retirement funds, along with health, dental, vision, and life insurance, can improve employee retention and increase the number of people applying to openings.
There is also a higher demand for more generous paid time off policies, including separate sick leave and vacation days. Employees are also looking for paid parental leave, short-term disability, and long-term disability. Offering these kinds of benefits can make your company an appealing option for job seekers.
3: Education
One of the greatest barriers to improving the skilled labor workforce is education and training. If job seekers haven’t gone through a formal trade school, the cost of learning a new skill could be too high. Businesses offering paid training can bring in applicants who want to enter trade fields but don’t yet have the education or experience for many jobs.
4: Mentorship
Education is necessary for many fields, but providing mentorship opportunities for new employees can decrease the learning curve associated with new methods or equipment. But mentorships also aid in transferring knowledge and experience to a new generation of laborers. The impact goes beyond what education can accomplish by providing tried and tested methods outside of classroom settings that no textbook could cover comprehensively.
5: Marketing and Outreach
The hard push for college degrees has been supported through advertising and post-secondary counseling practices. College education has a strong lead on vocational and skilled labor career paths, but proactively marketing these opportunities can impact future workforces in significant ways. Making your line of work more visible to the community, especially young people preparing to enter the workforce, could bring more potential employees to your business.
T3: Helping You Overcome the CIPP Labor Shortage
The skilled labor shortage in CIPP repair is reversible, but you’ll need a partner to help new employees learn the technical skills needed for success. This is where your pipe lining supply company makes a difference for your business. Top-quality materials and equipment are important, but you should also look for a company that goes beyond the basics.
Dependable Equipment, Materials, and Methods
The right materials and equipment can soften the learning curve for new skilled workers by reducing the margin for error during installations. T3’s commitment to third-party testing and benchmarking gives your business reliable results for every install, and our custom equipment takes the guesswork out of projects. You know the results you’ll get, and you know how to get them every time, when you choose T3 for your pipe lining supply needs.
Customized Training
When workers venture into CIPP repair, the right education is crucial to success. If companies want to overcome the skilled labor shortage in CIPP repair, they’ll need to give their employees customized training that gives them the skills and experience they need to jump into projects with confidence.
We provide fully customized training for all our customers, whether it’s at our facilities or at theirs. Your team will learn on the equipment they’ll use, whether or not you got it from us. Even complete beginners come out of our training program ready to get the job done right.
24-7 Live Support
When your new team members need additional support on the job, T3 has you covered. Our customers have access to a team of experts with more than 50 years of experience in the CIPP industry. We’re on call for your business so you can make successful repairs every time, no matter what challenges you encounter.
Let us help you provide the support your new team members need to be successful in CIPP repair. Contact us today to get started!