Attracting Younger Workers to the Roofing Industry

Reece Whitfield, Director of roofing recruitment firm The Externals Group, shares his expert tips for attracting younger working to the roofing industry.

Reece Whitfield, Director of The Externals Group

PEOPLE WHO have been in the roofing industry for long enough understand that the current workforce is getting older and teams are becoming understaffed. Meanwhile, younger workers are rarely considering roofing as a career option.

Everyone within the industry knows about the labor shortages, growing workloads, and expanding skills gap. These problems aren’t going away on their own, and this puts the future of our industry at risk.

People often don’t realize that roofing has amazing long-term career prospects and unfortunately not enough is being done to demonstrate this to young people. Many assume young people understand roofing’s potential, but the reality is they see it as long days and hard work with no clear career path.

Here, I’ve highlight five methods that we’ve seen work in the industry to help attract younger generations.

1. Progression Path

One of the biggest issues is that a lot of younger people don’t really see roofing as a career – they see it as just a job. Worse, they see it as a tough, physically demanding short-term gig with limited prospects. We can and should be doing a lot better to show them otherwise.

I spoke with an American candidate recently who started cleaning up on job sites at 16. He didn’t have a clear plan or job title, but he stuck with it. He went from laborer, to installer, to foreman, to superintendent, to project manager, and 16 years later he was the Regional VP overseeing operations across six states in the Western United States. This a true reflection of where you can go in the industry. The thing is, this journey happens more often than most people think, but not enough young people even hear about it.

If we want to fix the age gap in the industry, we need to actually show the younger generation the path. We can do this by going to schools, working with career advisors, and running more open days where they can actually meet and talk with a PM or estimator who started on the tools.

By doing this, we’re giving them a clear vision of what’s possible, and when people can really visualize where they could end up, roofing becomes more than just a trade.

2. Apprenticeships

A lot of companies will say that they offer apprenticeship programs, but in reality they go into it with the mindset “We’ll hire young people and just hope they figure it out”. The truth is, that’s not an apprenticeship; it’s a gamble.

Proper apprenticeships have solid structure: training, milestones, mentorship, and certification or recognition at completion. With this, young workers will have something credible to put on their resume and something to work towards.

You can tell when a company gets this right because they look at it as more of an investment as opposed to just a box ticking exercise. A solid apprenticeship will often include things like basic technical training, shadowing experienced staff and clear process check-ins.

On the flip side, you can see when companies get it wrong – they throw new hires onto roofs with zero guidance and expect them to just ‘tough it out’, but that’s how you lose young talent.

If you put the work into building a good apprenticeship programme, you’ll keep talent longer.

3. Modernize the Pitch

Young workers want transparency and clarity when it comes to pay structure, benefits, and work-life balance.

The perception is that roofing can’t compete with other careers, but the truth is we can answer those questions really well.

The roofing industry is actually a lot better in terms of pay when compared to most other entry-level jobs in retail or hospitality, and there’s decent job security because of aging buildings and bad weather. There’s always demand for labor. This industry offers progression, overtime, certifications, and the ability to earn more money.

It is a physically demanding job; there’s no question about it. You’re working outside in the elements, but you also get freedom from desk work and genuine satisfaction from creating something tangible.

If I had the opportunity to redo a lot of company’s recruitment pitches, I would go with something along the lines of: “It’s hard graft, but you will make good money, learn valuable life skills and you’ll have opportunities that most people your age won’t have for years to come, if ever.” This is the truth the younger generation is looking for.

4. Social Media and Digital Recruiting

Let’s be honest, a lot of roofing companies have a weak online presence – little to no content and nothing that shows what the job is actually like. Meanwhile, young people spend hours daily social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. These are the platforms where younger workers discover jobs now. They aren’t scrolling through traditional job boards or newspaper classifieds.

Successful companies that are securing younger talent are posting behind-the-scenes clips showing what an employee’s average day looks like and even short interviews with other young workers currently working with them. They find a 30-second clip walking through a completed project more interesting than ten recruitment ads.

A quick, real, and human idea for content could be something like a clip of a foreman explaining how he went from laborer to leading his own crew.

If you want to be seen and heard by younger people, you need to show up where they live: online.

5. Creating a Respectful Culture

The roofing industry has got a bit of a reputation for being a little old-school and sometimes rough around the edges. And just because there’s pride in hard work and grit, that doesn’t mean that young people will stick around if they’re being ignored or just seen as disposable labor.

I’ve seen companies hire promising young workers only to have them chased out by crews with a “that’s just how it is” mentality. I’ve also seen companies get it right with proper onboarding and mentorship. These companies build cultures based on respect, no matter what your position is, and they rarely have issues with retaining their talent.

A solid culture includes clear structure, provides support, and values employees eager to learn – even if they’re green.

If roofing companies want to attract young talent, they need to create a culture that welcomes them, not one that pushes them out the door.

Wrapping It Up

People can have amazing careers in roofing – we just need to communicate that better, and that doesn’t mean lowering standards or begging young people to join. We just need to show them what’s possible: stability, growth, and a genuine long-term career.

Companies that succeed in hiring the next generation of roofing talent will recruit honestly, build strong company cultures, and maintain an active social media presence. The companies that don’t adopt these things will be left scrambling.

The next 10 years of our industry depend on who we bring in now.