The Challenge

American Residential Services (ARS/Rescue Rooter) provides heating, air conditioning, indoor air quality, plumbing, drain cleaning, and sewer line services to homeowners across the United States. In early 2023, Maryland leadership began to prepare its busy season, which typically runs April to October. They knew success hinged upon having a fully staffed team of technicians; however, finding sufficient numbers of experienced techs proved challenging. 

Industry-wide, a shortage of skilled workers exists. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly one million job openings existed in U.S. construction and manufacturing as of July 2023.

The reason? More builders leave the trades than join each year, with Gen Z citing societal pressure to attend college as a primary motivator. Given 45% of skilled tradespeople are over the age of 45, this replacement rate shortfall poses a major challenge for the future.

The Solution

Looking to tap a new talent pool, ARS partnered with UpSmith to hire people with the potential and aptitude to thrive in skilled trades, if they only had the training and credentials to do so. To start, ARS and UpSmith cast a wide net, using digital channels to attract hundreds of candidates to a paid apprenticeship opportunity. The partners targeted transitioning military veterans, legal immigrants, recent high school graduates, and hourly retail or warehouse associate jobs.

UpSmith’s technology platform helped find talent who had never before considered careers in skilled trades, but were identified as resilient, dependable and coachable after a 150-question aptitude test.

Top candidates were reviewed by the ARS Maryland hiring team within UpSmith’s platform. Each profile included introductory videos, allowing candidates to share their motivations for pursuing new careers…