It takes 3 to 5 years to develop a journeyman. You cannot replace that with a faster hire.
Electricians, welders, pipefitters, HVAC technicians. The workforce is aging, apprenticeship pipelines are thin, and the institutional knowledge that keeps operations running walks out when an experienced tradesperson does. EIP identifies who is at risk before you are left with the gap.
Net new workers the construction and skilled trades industry needed to attract in 2024, on top of normal replacement hiring.
Associated Builders and Contractors, 2024The pattern here
Skilled trades face two compounding problems. The workforce is aging — in most trades, a significant share of journeymen are within 10 to 15 years of retirement eligibility. And the pipeline to replace them is slow. A licensed electrician takes 4 to 5 years of apprenticeship. A certified pipefitter, millwright, or HVAC technician takes 3 to 5 years. When someone with 12 years of field experience decides to leave, a new hire cannot step into that role for years. The industry is already short hundreds of thousands of workers. The organizations that retain their experienced people are the ones that can take on work. The ones that don't are turning down contracts.
Construction workforce
501,000
Net new workers the construction industry needed to attract in 2024 on top of normal hiring to keep pace with demand.
Associated Builders and Contractors, 2024 Workforce Shortage ReportWelding
360,000
Projected shortage of welding professionals by 2027, as experienced welders retire faster than apprentices enter the trade.
American Welding Society, Workforce ReportThe real risk
3 to 5 years
To develop a qualified journeyman electrician, pipefitter, or HVAC technician. You cannot hire your way out of losing experience.
“We can train someone to use the tools. We cannot train them to know what we know after fifteen years on the job. That knowledge either transfers or it disappears.”
The pipeline problem.
When an experienced tradesperson leaves, you are not hiring a replacement. You are starting a 3 to 5 year development cycle. The organizations that know who is at risk a year before the departure have time to transfer knowledge, develop a successor, and keep the work moving. The ones that find out on the last day do not.
How EIP helps in advanced skilled trades.
The Council
Our Council includes current and former skilled trades executives, board members, and frontline leaders. They review your company as a group and tell you exactly what to do.
Flight Risk Score™
See which experienced journeymen and lead technicians carry the most departure risk, before the two weeks' notice.
Turn Tax™
See what losing a 10-year electrician or pipefitter actually costs, built from your own numbers, not a national average.
Honest Read™
Understand what your most experienced tradespeople need to stay — before they walk their knowledge out the door.