If you feel like it should not be this hard to find great techs, you are not imagining it. The talent pool is being squeezed from multiple directions at the same time, demand is staying strong, experienced workers are aging out, and competition for the same people is coming from every corner of the economy.
In-home services, this hits especially hard because the work is local, response time matters, and one open seat on the board can ripple through revenue, customer experience, and team morale.
Below is what is driving the hiring pressure right now, plus the strategies top operators are using to consistently attract, develop, and keep talent in the field.
Demand is rising, and the replacement cycle is relentless. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, electricians are projected to grow 9 percent from 2024 to 2034, with about 81,000 openings each year on average.
For HVAC technicians, BLS projects 8 percent growth from 2024 to 2034, with about 40,100 openings each year on average.
For plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters, BLS projects about 44,000 openings per year on average over the decade.
Those numbers matter because they are not just “growth,” they reflect replacement needs, retirements, and churn across the entire skilled trades workforce.
Even when someone is motivated, these careers require hands-on training, mentoring, and real reps in the field. BLS notes that HVAC roles typically include long-term on-the-job training and may require licensing or certification. So the market cannot “hire its way out” quickly; it has to build its way out.
Owners are feeling the pressure, and technicians are, too.
In the 2025 Technician Insights Report referenced by SMACNA, hiring was the top concern for 53 percent of commercial service business owners, and 26 percent of technicians were described as nearing retirement.
Even if your company is primarily residential, the dynamic is the same; every segment is competing for the same core talent.
Skilled labor is being pulled into multiple sectors, including large-scale construction and infrastructure work. Associated Builders and Contractors estimates the construction industry needs to attract 349,000 net new workers in 2026 to meet demand, with additional needs projected beyond that.
That kind of demand puts upward pressure on pay and increases competition for the same technicians you are trying to recruit for trades.
The companies winning in today’s market are not relying on job ads and hope. They are running a repeatable system to hire electrical, plumbing, and HVAC technicians, and they treat it like a core operating process. See two examples below:
They recruit like marketers, not like HR
This is recruiting for trades with clarity, not hype.
They speed up hiring and remove friction
Successful Companies Build A Farm System, Not A Wish List.
If you only recruit fully developed technicians, you will always compete at the highest price point. Strong operators create structured entry levels, apprentice, junior technician, technician, senior technician, lead, and field supervisor, and attach defined training, ride-alongs, and performance standards to each stage. This approach expands the available talent pool and remains one of the most reliable HVAC, electrical, and plumbing hiring strategies because it focuses on development, not just acquisition. This is where consistent training is imperative.
Final Thoughts
Hiring in the trades is hard because the market is tight and the work is specialized, but the best companies are not waiting for the market to change. They are building systems that make recruiting for trades consistent, training intentional, and retention a competitive advantage, and that is exactly what separates the operators who stay fully staffed from the ones who stay perpetually short-handed.
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