INDIANAPOLIS -- The plumbing, heating and cooling industry is facing a workforce shortage as baby boomers begin to hit the retirement age and leave thousands of jobs unfilled.
The industry will need to recruit more than 100,000 new workers by the year 2020 to replace those who are leaving in the next few years.
Jeff Chapman owns and operates a heating and cooling operation on the city's west side and he said it's something contractors have been aware of and are trying to fix.
"It is the number one issue," said Chapman. "All we talk about is where are we gonna get the labor to do the work."
Chapman is recruiting young men and women to work for him, and he said some don't even realize the earning potential of careers like this.
"I can take a young man or woman well above the medium wage," said Chapman.
The plumbing-heating-cooling contractors association is also working with Millennials to expand their ideas of what kinds of education and careers can lead to a good life. They're hoping to change some mindsets about how some of these types of vocational jobs are perceived.
