Task Force to Boost U.S. Corrosion Prevention Workforce

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Written by Brian Ford, Editor-in-Chief for IIR News Intelligence (Sugar Land, Texas)

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Summary

The Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP) has launched TalentForce, which aims to address a growing shortage of workers in the infrastructure, corrosion prevention and materials protection field for industries such as Petroleum Refining, Oil & Gas Pipelines and Offshore Oil & Gas Production.

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A Shrinking Workforce

Corrosion management, by its very nature, succeeds when nothing happens. When a pipeline doesn't fail, when a bridge doesn't crack, when a tank doesn't leak--that's the work done right. There are more than 4,700 operational pump and compressor stations for the massive network of oil and gas pipelines in the United States, according to Industrial Info Resources data.

But its low profile makes it harder for the profession to recruit new workers at a time when the aging workforce is getting ready to retire in droves, says Alan Thomas, chief executive officer of the Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP) and chairman of the newly-launched TalentForce.

As the U.S. enters one of the largest infrastructure investment cycles in generations, the workforce responsible for protecting bridges, pipelines, power systems and other critical infrastructure from corrosion is shrinking, Thomas said. He added the shortage is already affecting project timelines, increasing costs and creating growing maintenance backlogs.

AMPP, which has more than 40,000 members in more than 150 countries, says its research has found that corrosion costs the global economy $2.5 trillion annually, and a constrained workforce only amplifies that burden.

Experience is leaving the field faster than new professionals are reaching full qualifications, Thomas said. The average age is 48 to 54 years, with 40% eligible to retire within 10 years. The 40% figure applies to the full corrosion workforce--engineers, inspectors, cathodic protection technicians, coating and surface preparation trades, he added.

Meanwhile, demand for the corrosion workforce is exploding. Defense modernization, the energy transition and the rebuild of aging systems are accelerating, and all three rely on skilled corrosion professionals, Thomas said. The U.S. has 3.4 million miles of pipelines to be serviced, many more than 50 years old; about 250,000 maritime workers are needed this decade alone, and more than 70% of employers report active talent shortages.

"The impact of the workforce shortage isn't theoretical--it's already affecting project timelines and business decisions in very tangible ways," Thomas said. "We're hearing from AMPP members around the world that they have turned away projects or delayed work because they don't have the staffing to support it. In many cases, companies are limiting growth not due to lack of demand, but because they cannot safely or effectively execute the work with the current workforce."

Also, "We're hearing from operators who are delaying inspection cycles--not because the infrastructure doesn't need the attention, but because qualified people aren't available to staff the work."

The pressure is most acute in the oil- and gas-related industries, which face two parallel demands at once, Thomas added.

"On one hand, aging infrastructure--pipelines, refineries and offshore platforms--requires more frequent and highly skilled oversight," he said. "On the other, the energy transition is adding new assets like renewables and carbon-capture systems faster than the workforce can support them."

Public infrastructure, including bridges, water systems and transit, represents another critical area of concern. Beyond that, the impact extends across a wide range of sectors from marine transportation and manufacturing to shipbuilding and defense, according to AMPP.

Invisible Jobs

One of the challenges for recruiting new professionals in the field is the low visibility of such jobs. Many careers protecting bridges, pipelines and power systems offer strong pay and advancement without requiring a four-year degree, yet most young workers have never heard of them, Thomas said.

Such work is "inherently behind the scenes," he continued. "That's made it increasingly difficult to build a public profile for the profession the way you might with, say, cybersecurity or clean energy, where the consequences of failure are more visible and the career identity is more established in popular culture."

"And for decades, the industry didn't really need to recruit loudly. There was a large cohort of Baby Boomers moving through the workforce," said Thomas.

He added, "What's compounding it is that the generation we most need--Gen Z, the people entering the workforce right now--has grown up with a cultural narrative around careers that doesn't include trades and technical industrial work."

All that said, "These are genuinely good jobs," Thomas added. Materials engineers earn a median salary of around $100,000, while coating inspectors and cathodic protection technicians, who are not required to have a four-year degree, routinely command $70,000 to $90,000 and above with experience.

TalentForce

In March, AMPP announced the launch of TalentForce in order to address these issues.

The workforce development organization is working to remove recruitment hurdles via employer-co-created apprenticeships, "earn-while-you-learn" programs and stackable credentials to create structured routes from entry-level roles to advanced specialization, reducing barriers to entry and improving long-term retention.

TalentForce's near-term focus is on "foundational infrastructure." Launching the first registered apprenticeship pilot programs, formalizing an employer coalition, establishing educational partnerships and building the data authority that lets the profession speak with precision about where talent shortages are worst and what's moving.

Over a three-to-five-year horizon, the focus "shifts to scale," Thomas said, with programs operating across multiple states and global regions, a significant increase in the number of people moving through structured pathways into corrosion and materials protection careers and TalentForce embedded in state and regional workforce systems in a way that unlocks sustained public-private funding.

Key Takeaways

• Corrosion costs the global economy $2.5 trillion annually.
• The workforce responsible for protecting bridges, pipelines, power systems and other critical infrastructure from corrosion is shrinking.
• TalentForce has been formed to address recruitment issues in this field.

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About Industrial Info Resources
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, Industrial Info Resources is tracking over 250,000 current and future projects worth $30.2 Trillion (USD).