To mark National Tradesmen Day, Installer spoke to Michael Steckler, CEO of Tradify about the common challenges and opportunities facing the UK trade workforce:
Q: National Tradesmen Day is about recognising the contribution tradespeople make. Do you think we still underestimate their contribution as business owners and entrepreneurs, rather than simply skilled workers?
Michael: Everyone appreciates a good plumber when the boiler breaks or a sparky who shows up on time. But the business behind that often goes unnoticed. These are people running payroll, managing cash flow, winning and delivering work and building something real.
Tradify data shows electricians, plumbers and heating engineers building profitable companies and creating jobs. Sole trade electricians using our app average more than £107,000 in annual invoiced revenue, rising to more than £2 million for businesses of 13 or more. Plumbing & Gas trades follow a similar pattern, with revenue between £114,000 for sole traders to almost £2 million for large businesses.
Q: The UK continues to face significant skills shortages, particularly across construction and building services. What needs to change to encourage more young people – and career changers – into plumbing, heating and electrical careers?
Michael: “We need to be honest with young people about what these careers actually look like. A 16-year-old starting an electrical apprenticeship today could be running their own business within a decade. That’s a compelling story. We’re just not telling it loudly enough, or early enough. The same goes for career changers. For someone who’s fed up with office life and wants to work with their hands, be their own boss, and build something, the trades offer exactly that. But they need to see a clear path in, not just a skills shortage headline.
Ultimately, attracting more people into the trades means changing the narrative. We need young people and career changers to see the trades for what they are: skilled careers offering independence, progression and a genuine route into entrepreneurship.
Q: Heating and electrical trades are going to be central to the UK’s transition towards cleaner homes – from heat pumps and smart heating to EV charging and electrification. Is the workforce currently equipped for that transition, and where are the biggest skills gaps?
Michael: Plumbers, electricians and heating engineers do work that can’t be put off, and the shift towards electrification and energy efficiency is creating a wave of new demand on top of that.
The work is changing quickly, so training needs to keep up. New tradespeople need to know what skills to build, while experienced tradespeople need practical ways to learn new technology and expand the jobs they can take on.
But more demand means more enquiries, quotes, jobs and invoices to manage. We’re already seeing annual invoiced revenue grow 19% year-on-year among Electrical & AV businesses in our analysis and 17% in HVAC. We need to prepare people for both sides of that opportunity: having the technical skills to do the work, and the business infrastructure to manage growing demand. Otherwise the growth just turns into more stress and longer working days.
Q: Tradify’s research shows electrical, plumbing and HVAC businesses all growing strongly year-on-year. What’s driving that growth, and how confident are you that demand can be sustained despite the pressures facing households and small businesses?
Michael: There’s strong resilience in the sector. Much of the work plumbers, electricians, and heating engineers do is essential maintenance. On top of that, electrification, energy efficiency, and smart technology are creating new opportunities.
We see strong demand: Electrical and Plumbing & Gas businesses using Tradify convert around 86% of quotes into jobs, with HVAC at around 85%.
But revenue growth doesn’t mean businesses aren’t under pressure. Higher costs, skills shortages and tighter household budgets all matter, and a busy order book doesn’t automatically mean stronger margins. That’s why efficiency is so important. Sustainable growth comes from pricing work properly, understanding which jobs are profitable and having the right systems to manage demand without simply working more hours.
Q: Being a great electrician, plumber or heating engineer doesn’t automatically make someone a great business owner. What separates the tradespeople who successfully grow their businesses from those who find themselves working longer hours just to keep up?
Michael: There comes a point in almost every growing trade business where being great at the trade isn’t enough. You’re suddenly quoting, scheduling, invoicing, managing customers, and potentially running a team as well.
The businesses that scale successfully recognise that shift. Instead of keeping everything in their head, on paper or across different messages and spreadsheets, they put proper systems around the business. Systems that the whole team can use.
We see that change happening. More than 90% of admin among Electrical, HVAC and Plumbing & Gas businesses in our analysis were completed during the working week. Job-management software can help tradespeople keep quoting, scheduling, invoicing and customer information in one place, so they spend less time managing paperwork and more time doing the work that builds the business.
Q: If you could change one thing over the next five years to make life better for Britain’s plumbers, electricians and heating engineers – whether that’s government policy, training, technology or public perception – what would it be?
Michael: I’d give tradespeople more support to become great business owners, not just great tradespeople.
We rightly talk about the need to train more electricians, plumbers and heating engineers. But learning the practical skills is only part of building a successful career. We should also equip people to price work properly, manage cash flow, look after customers and eventually build a team.
I’d like business skills and technology to become a much more natural part of learning a trade. If we combine great practical skills with the tools to run great businesses, we’ll create stronger companies, better careers and a trade workforce ready for the opportunities ahead.
Find out more at: https://www.tradifyhq.com/
