During the recent NETWORK 2019 50th anniversary celebration event in Washington, D.C., the American Supply Association went to the White House to sign the Pledge to America’s Workers initiative.
ASA pledged to train and educate 35,000 employees over the span of five years. This important initiative addresses the concern of ASA members regarding the huge gap in skilled workers in the PHCP-PVF industry.
“There is a critical need to hire and train qualified replacements throughout the supply chain,” ASA President Steve Cook (Northeastern Supply) said. “ASA is committed to the pledge and excited to participate. However, there still is more hard work to do.”
In fact, statistics show that for every five plumbers that retire, only one is being replaced. According to ASA’s 2015 labor study, the total workforce for the PHCP/PVF wholesale industry is estimated at 205,408 full-time and part-time employees and by 2020, 25% of the employees in the PHCP and PVF industries will have retired.
Beginning in 2018, ASA volunteer leaders met to discuss the future needs of the industry and the customers served. One outcome of the discussions is the strategic initiative – Project TALENT. The overarching goal of Project TALENT is to enable ASA members to attract workers.
The initiative has three key components: 1) Development of a media campaign to brand the PHCP and PVF industries as an industry of choice; 2) Development of a career portal where potential candidates can learn more about career opportunities in the industry and connect with ASA members looking for qualified candidates; and 3) Providing ASA members with a “career opportunity toolbox” that will help them market the industry and their companies and ultimately, attract qualified candidates.