Building a Pipeline for the Plumbing Trade

Like many franchise owners, Mike Brewer of Benjamin Franklin Plumbing of Phoenix found that his biggest challenge in growing his plumbing business was hiring and retaining qualified plumbers. With a finite number of existing plumbers, he soon realized that, without expanding his hiring pipeline, he would never be able to solve this pressing problem.

To that end, his company created a first-of-its-kind training program they named Brewer Craftsman Academy. Graduates receive a fast-track training program over the course of 24 weeks, can earn $40-50,000/year immediately after graduation and are on track to earn $70-100,000 within three years. This training is paid for by the company, but graduates are not required to stay with the company. For those who do, they begin their careers with the company with a mentor coach who helps them be successful. This training academy has trained more than 140 men and women for Brewer’s residential plumbing division since its inception. Building on this success, they have recently launched a similar program with a service plumbing curriculum to train plumbers for their Benjamin Franklin Plumbing franchise.

You can read more about this initiative in The Contractor’s Compass.