Hiring guideRead at source, 29 September 2026

How to Recruit Maintenance Workers for Buildings and Facilities

To recruit maintenance workers, advertise to people who are already fixing things somewhere else: handymen, apartment and hotel maintenance staff, and tradespeople who want a steadier schedule. Lead the ad with the hourly rate, the schedule and the on-call rotation, say whether you supply tools and a vehicle, offer to pay for EPA 608 certification rather than requiring it, keep the mobile application to three or four questions and call the same day.

Who you are hiring

BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 count 1,621,800 general maintenance and repair workers in 2025, projected to grow 4.2 percent by 2035, with about 148,700 openings a year. The BLS, May 2025 median annual wage was $49,590. The typical entry path is a high school diploma and moderate-term on-the-job training, so this is a role where people learn by doing and move between employers.

That size is good news and bad news. There are plenty of maintenance workers, but most of the ones worth hiring already have a job and can get offers from property managers, school districts, hospitals and plants at the same time. This guide takes the building and facilities angle. If you keep production equipment running, maintenance technician recruiting covers the plant version, where BLS's machinery maintenance workers had a May 2025 median of $60,850.

Where to find maintenance workers

• Maintenance staff at other properties. The fastest hires come from the apartment community, hotel or school down the road. They are not job hunting, so they will not see a job board posting, but they do see a Facebook or Instagram ad in their area.
• Handymen and small contractors. Some self-employed handymen would trade variable work for steady pay and benefits. Name the schedule and the benefits early.
• Tradespeople with one strong skill. A painter, a flooring installer or an HVAC helper can grow into a generalist. Say you will train on the gaps.
• Make-ready and porter staff. Your own groundskeepers, porters and turn crews are a promotion pipeline. Post internally first.
• Technical school programs. Facilities maintenance and HVAC certificate students need hours and a first job.

If you run many properties, you can advertise every opening at once; Boostpoint Programmatic 2.0 turns each job in your feed into its own ad. Meta employment ads run in the special ad category: no targeting by age, gender or ZIP code, and at least a 15-mile radius.

What to pay maintenance workers

Start from the BLS, May 2025 median of $49,590 and then check who you are competing with locally. If nearby plants, hospitals or school districts pay more than you do, lead with what they may not offer: a predictable schedule, paid on-call, a housing discount, a work vehicle or a clear route to lead technician. The maintenance worker job description has pay by industry and a template you can copy.

EPA 608: offer it, don't demand it

Under EPA rules, technicians who maintain, service, repair or dispose of equipment that could release refrigerants into the atmosphere must be certified under Section 608. There are four types: Type I for small appliances, Type II for high- and very high-pressure equipment, Type III for low-pressure equipment, and Universal for all types, and the EPA states that the credential does not expire. If the job includes refrigerators or HVAC units, the worker needs the right type before doing that work, but you can hire first and pay for the test. Writing "we pay for your EPA 608" widens the pool; writing "EPA 608 required" shrinks it.

How to write the maintenance worker ad

A maintenance worker checks four things first: the rate, the hours, how often they are on call, and whether they must bring their own tools. Answer all four above the fold.

Name the property type and size. "180 units" or "three school buildings" tells an experienced candidate the workload in two words.

Screening questions for the application

• Can you take part in an on-call rotation? (Knockout only if on-call is required.)
• Do you have a valid driver's license? (Only if the job involves driving between sites.)
• Which of these can you do on your own: plumbing repairs, electrical repairs, appliance repair, HVAC, drywall and paint? (Informational.)
• Do you hold EPA 608 certification, and which type? (Informational, since you can pay for it.)

A resume upload costs more applicants than it is worth for this role. See pre-screening questions for what not to ask.

Speed and the first 90 days

An employed maintenance worker has no reason to wait on a slow reply. Text within minutes, call the same day and walk them through the property within the week. Text recruiting keeps that response fast when your manager is also running the office. In the first 90 days, pair the new hire with your lead on after-hours calls before putting them on call alone, and finish the EPA 608 test you promised.

What it costs to recruit maintenance workers

In the Technician / mechanic family in Boostpoint's 2026 benchmark, the median campaign cost $13.41 per applicant, with a middle half of $7.40 to $23.58 and a 16% apply rate. Across all 891 campaigns, the apply experience explained 70% of the difference in cost between campaigns, so the short form matters more than the budget. Full data is on the benchmarks page. Cost per applicant is not cost per hire.

Frequently asked questions

Sources: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 (SOC 49-9071, 49-9043); BLS, May 2025 median annual wage; EPA Section 608 technician certification requirements; Boostpoint 2026 Social Job Advertising Benchmark. Read at source 29 September 2026.