"The escalating skilled labor shortage poses a direct risk to our business, and our ongoing investment in addressing it is vital to ensuring the long-term resilience of our business and the wider sector," said Erin McCusker, Chief Impact Officer at LIXIL. "Our purpose of making better homes a reality everywhere relies closely on the women and men who build and maintain our communities. Without a network of professionals to implement these modern systems at scale, we cannot advance our Impact Strategy goals in Water Conservation or Global Sanitation and Hygiene. By championing vocational training and opening the trades to underrepresented demographics, we are activating our Diversity and Inclusion commitments and ensuring LIXIL’s innovations reach society to drive meaningful change."

David Hoey, CEO of WorldSkills International stated: " The global shortage of skilled labor presents a critical challenge for sustainable infrastructure. LIXIL and its GROHE brand have played a vital role alongside WorldSkills in empowering young plumbers and raising vocational standards worldwide. Looking ahead to WorldSkills Aichi 2028, we anticipate working closely with LIXIL, the Japanese industry, and government partners to showcase the transformative power of skills on the global stage."

The showcase of excellence in Shanghai highlighted a pressing priority for the global industrial sector. As communities expand and transition toward greener infrastructure, the demand for highly skilled professionals continues to grow, often outpacing the current talent pipeline.

Case in point: to hit Europe's vital climate and renovation targets, the region needs an estimated 3 million additional trained professionals by 2030 across a broad spectrum of trades, technical fields, and industrial roles. Similarly, Germany lacks 60,000 plumbers by 2030 to reach the objectives laid out in its new heating laws.

Lack of training is often on the line: In China, the host nation of this year's competition, the State Council has introduced a state guideline aimed at providing skills training to over 30 million people by 2027 to meet the growing need for talent in modern manufacturing and key technical sectors. In Europe, only 39.5% of adults take part in training every year, far fewer than the 60% EU target for 2030.

In the United States, LIXIL's earlier "Blocked Pipes" economic study, conducted by John Dunham & Associates, projected a shortfall of 550,000 unfilled plumbing positions by 2027. The study emphasized that the impact of the trades extends well beyond residential housing, noting that plumbing services are essential to 519 of the 544 U.S. industry sectors, including healthcare, aerospace, and manufacturing. With approximately 90% of plumbing-related spending currently tied to new construction, resources for vital everyday maintenance and infrastructure upgrades are becoming increasingly stretched.

In Japan, workers aged 55 or older account for over 35% of the construction workforce, while those under 29 represent just 11% . As the domestic renovation and retrofitting market expands to a projected 9.2 trillion yen by 2040 , this severe labor shortage creates a critical bottleneck for the industry. Australia faces an acute trade shortage with an 83,000-worker deficit — including nearly 12,000 plumbers — causing housing delays and risking the nation’s 1.2 million new homes target. This shortage is mirrored across developing ASEAN, where fewer than 25% of active trade workers hold formal credentials. This credentials gap slows construction productivity and delays critical sanitation and infrastructure projects. Expanding access to standardized TVET programs is essential to scale the skilled workforce to meet development aspirations.

LIXIL actively supports the growth of the trades through its own targeted programs. These include the GROHE Installer Vocational Training and Education (GIVE) program in Europe, which establishes modern plumbing training facilities, training over 2,500 installers every year, and the TradeUp initiative in the Americas, designed to attract and support new demographics entering the plumbing profession.

Capturing the gold medal in the Plumbing and Heating Skill, Matthias Steiner exemplified the exceptional precision and craftsmanship that modern infrastructure urgently requires. Representing the United States, Charles Goede, a 20-year-old plumbing apprentice from Connecticut, also earned a Medal for Excellence for his performance in the Plumbing and Heating competition. LIXIL extends its warmest congratulations to Steiner and Goede, alongside global winner Yuhao Fu and Japan's representative, Hayato Ikari, in the Wall and Floor Tiling Skill — a discipline reflecting the 35-year legacy of INAX Institute of the Tiling Arts(*Japanese only) in Japan. These efforts complement LIXIL's ongoing global training programs, including the GROHE Installer Vocational Training and Education (GIVE) program in Europe and TradeUp in the Americas.

As the WorldSkills flag is formally passed to Japan and the host prefecture of Aichi for the 49th competition in November 2028, the event will carry profound historical significance for LIXIL. Aichi is home to the pottery town of Tokoname, where LIXIL’s founding brand, INAX, was established in 1924 to produce ceramic tiles and terracotta. Rooted in this century-long legacy of Japanese craftsmanship, LIXIL looks forward to welcoming the global vocational community to Aichi in 2028, continuing its enduring mission to champion the skilled trades and build the workforce of tomorrow