January 22, 2020

By Dianne M. Pogoda

LAS VEGAS — NKBA’s annual State of the Industry panel discussion, featuring executives from key segments of the kitchen, bath and design industries, focused on two of the most critical concerns in the business: the shortage of skilled labor and the boom in connected home technology.

Both issues present challenges and opportunities, according to the panel, which was moderated by Fox News/Fox Business anchor Melissa Francis for the third year. Mikael Åkerberg, CEO of luxury cabinet manufacturer Nobilia; Katty Pien, chief marketing officer of LIXIL Americas, home to iconic brands American Standard, D-X-V and Grohe; Randy Warner, president of luxe appliance maker Dacor, and Adam Sandow, chairman and CEO of SANDOW luxury media, shared their perspectives on these issues and potential solutions. Francis wove the two topics together, as the panelists described the connections.

Among the key points:

• Addressing the skilled labor crisis, which leaves hundreds of thousands of jobs unfilled in the U.S. every month, the panel suggested changing the conversation around the trades is key to attracting the next generation.

Pien said American Standard has been a longtime advocate for the plumbing trade. The company conducted a survey in the past year that revealed 78% of young people think plumbing is “grueling and dirty work.”

“But most of the working plumbers we’ve surveyed are very happy with their work, and the money they can earn,” Pien said. LIXIL has also hosted “Tools and Tiaras,” a program that encourages girls to go into the trades.

• Education — but not necessarily a college education — is key to building a thriving workforce. Warner noted that vocational schools have changed dramatically in the past decade. There are fewer, and unfortunately there’s not enough of the hands-on training that’s required — a lot of it is online — and the key to a job well done is well-trained installers.

• Approaching the problem from a different angle is another way to tackle the issue. Åkerberg said Nobilia is working from the manufacturer’s point of view, which for Nobilia means designing product that’s faster and easier to install. “This makes the jobs go quicker,” he said. “We also run the Nobilia Academy to help young people train for these professions.”

• While many people fear the technology that can potentially take “human” jobs away, it also changes the skillsets needed to thrive in jobs for the future. “I tell kids to pick careers that aren’t going to be eaten up by [artificial intelligence] two years after they’re out of school,” Sandow said. “Entire categories might disappear, but we will always need good, hands-on tradespeople to install kitchens and bathrooms.” Future workers will also have to learn to operate the robotics and other high-tech components involved in the building trades.

Åkerberg noted that installers of the future will likely be wearing Google glasses to watch how to perform a task in real time.

Pien added that young people getting started in their careers today must be resilient, since they will likely have multiple careers throughout their lifetimes.

• The industry is headed for major disruption in the sales process, with ecommerce becoming increasingly dominant. So, it’s important that all the messaging online is providing consumers with the research and information they need to make smart purchasing decisions, and equally important that the showroom becomes more of an immersive experience. “Especially at the high end, remodeling a kitchen can be a fun process,” said Warner. “And the dealers need to make the customer experience more engaging, with events like cooking demonstrations.”

For more on the State of the Industry, check back soon at KBBOnline.com, or NKBA.org.