Plumbers and pipe fitters
In the ILO's assessment few of the job's tasks can be done by generative AI, or the scores are too spread out to reach gradient 1 — generative AI does not meaningfully take over the core of the work.
Exposure is not job loss: it shows how much of the work generative AI could do today. Whether that turns into transformation, productivity gains or cuts depends on employers, regulation — and on you.
0 = today’s generative AI cannot perform any of the job’s tasks, 100 = it could do all of them fully. The pale band is the spread across tasks.
Work out your own score ↓What can you do?
The AI analysis for this occupation is still being prepared — the background process covers a few occupations every day.
Task by task
The ILO scored every task of the occupation separately, as the average of two AI models (GPT-4o and Gemini). The pale band is the range between the two models' scores, the dot the ILO's final score (for a few tasks expert review placed it outside the band).
- Examining blueprints, drawings and specifications to determine the layout of plumbing and ventilation systems and materials required25
- Inspecting, examining and testing installed systems and pipes, using pressure gauge, hydrostatic testing, observation or other methods.21
- Measuring, cutting, threading, bending, jointing, assembling, installing, maintaining and repairing pipes, fittings and fixtures of drainage, heating, ventilation, water supply and sewerage systems10
- Installing gas appliances, dishwashers and water heaters, sinks and toilets using hand and power tools10
- Laying clay, concrete or cast-iron pipes in ditches to form sewers, drains or water mains, or for other purposes10
How much does it affect you?
Every job is different: mark which of these tasks you do and how much, and we'll compute your own, time-weighted score.
For each task: I don't do it · sometimes · most of my job.
- Examining blueprints, drawings and specifications to determine the layout of plumbing and ventilation systems and materials required(25)
- Inspecting, examining and testing installed systems and pipes, using pressure gauge, hydrostatic testing, observation or other methods.(21)
- Measuring, cutting, threading, bending, jointing, assembling, installing, maintaining and repairing pipes, fittings and fixtures of drainage, heating, ventilation, water supply and sewerage systems(10)
- Installing gas appliances, dishwashers and water heaters, sinks and toilets using hand and power tools(10)
- Laying clay, concrete or cast-iron pipes in ditches to form sewers, drains or water mains, or for other purposes(10)
You are exactly at the occupation average. (The occupation's score: 18.)
About 0% of your working time goes to highly exposed tasks (score ≥ 50).
- • Examining blueprints, drawings and specifications to determine the layout of plumbing and ventilation systems and materials required
- • Inspecting, examining and testing installed systems and pipes, using pressure gauge, hydrostatic testing, observation or other methods.
- • Laying clay, concrete or cast-iron pipes in ditches to form sewers, drains or water mains, or for other purposes
- • Installing gas appliances, dishwashers and water heaters, sinks and toilets using hand and power tools
An estimate from the ILO task scores. Everything is computed in your browser — nothing is sent or stored.
How many people work in this occupational group?
Share of the Building and related trades workers, excluding electricians group in total employment, by country (Eurostat, ISCO 2-digit — 4-digit breakdowns are not public by country).
Table view
| Country | Building and related trades workers, excluding electricians |
|---|---|
| Romania | 5.9% · 451 thousand · 2025 |
| Cyprus | 5.3% · 27 thousand · 2025 |
| Poland | 5.3% · 907 thousand · 2025 |
| Estonia | 5.1% · 36 thousand · 2025 |
| Malta | 5.1% · 17 thousand · 2025 |
| Czechia | 4.8% · 250 thousand · 2025 |
| Spain | 4.6% · 1,014 thousand · 2025 |
| Italy | 4.3% · 1,043 thousand · 2025 |
| Portugal | 4.3% · 224 thousand · 2025 |
| Lithuania | 4.3% · 62 thousand · 2025 |
| Iceland | 4.2% · 9 thousand · 2025 |
| Austria | 4.1% · 182 thousand · 2025 |
| Hungary | 3.9% · 182 thousand · 2025 |
| Slovakia | 3.8% · 100 thousand · 2025 |
| Slovenia | 3.8% · 38 thousand · 2025 |
| Finland | 3.6% · 93 thousand · 2025 |
| Belgium | 3.5% · 182 thousand · 2025 |
| Norway | 3.5% · 100 thousand · 2025 |
| Bulgaria | 3.4% · 101 thousand · 2025 |
| Sweden | 3.4% · 181 thousand · 2025 |
| Greece | 3.4% · 145 thousand · 2025 |
| France | 3.2% · 946 thousand · 2025 |
| Latvia | 3.2% · 28 thousand · 2025 |
| Switzerland | 3.0% · 146 thousand · 2025 |
| Croatia | 2.9% · 49 thousand · 2025 |
| Denmark | 2.8% · 86 thousand · 2025 |
| Ireland | 2.8% · 78 thousand · 2025 |
| United Kingdom | 2.6% · 891 thousand · 2025 |
| Germany | 2.4% · 1,030 thousand · 2025 |
| Netherlands | 2.4% · 238 thousand · 2025 |
What do they earn?
Mean gross monthly earnings in the major occupational group (Craft and related trades workers). Eurostat's earnings survey only publishes pay by occupation at 1 digit, so this is the job's broader group. Enterprises with 10+ employees, 2022.
By country, at purchasing power parity (PPS/month), so countries with different price levels can be compared.
- Switzerland4,098
- Iceland3,826
- Denmark3,666
- Norway3,260
- Belgium2,979
- Germany2,859
- Luxembourg2,760
- Sweden2,733
- Netherlands2,717
- Austria2,715
- Finland2,711
- EU272,364
- Italy2,314
- Ireland2,200
- Spain2,124
- France2,122
- Malta2,032
- Slovenia2,012
- Lithuania2,008
- Greece1,799
- Estonia1,795
- Poland1,787
- Czechia1,781
- Cyprus1,751
- Romania1,734
- Hungary1,684
- Latvia1,680
- Slovakia1,672
- Croatia1,505
- Portugal1,285
- Bulgaria1,217
Source: Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey (earn_ses22_21), every four years. The United Kingdom is not covered by the survey.
Outlook to 2035
Employment in the Building and related trades workers, excluding electricians group according to Cedefop's 2026 forecast.
thousand · Cedefop Skills Forecast 2026 · 2026–2035: projection
Replacement demand is the jobs left by people retiring or changing careers — even a shrinking occupation can have many openings.
Related occupations
Sources: ILO WP140 (2025) · Eurostat lfsa_egai2d · Cedefop Skills Forecast 2026 · WEF Future of Jobs 2025 · ESCO. The exposure score measures how much of an occupation's tasks generative AI could perform — not whether the job disappears. For information only, not career advice. How do we calculate this?