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.
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.
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.
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…
