JAN - MARCHCONSTRUCTIONTECHREVIEW.COM 19CONFRONTING THE LABOR SHORTAGE CRISIS IN CONSTRUCTIONWhat are the some of the changes you have seen in the construction industry, since your arrival at AGC of America? There is a great degree of focus now in the industry to understand the market conditions broadly. Contractors have become more cognizant of the external factors affecting their budgets or their ability to deliver projects on time. When I started in 2001, the industry was just coming out of recession. The homebuilding industry had managed to get through the general recession without a slump. But the nonresidential construction was at a low, and witnessed significant increases in prices for materials. Often, contractors assumed the causal factors to be something internal, limited to the construction landscape of their own neighborhood, rather than conditions in the overall U.S. or global economy. In comparison to those times, I believe there is a broader understanding today about the things that affect the construction industry. Contractors are well aware that the competition extends out to the entire world.What do you think is the reason for chronic labor shortage in the industry?The labor shortage in the industry can be attributed to the crippling of the once robust construction education pipeline. Dating back to the 1990s, there emerged a growing perspective among people that jobs like construction labor are dead ends. Parents pressured their kids to pursue a college education in order to have a successful career. Bolstering this perspective was the large shift in federal funding to promote college preparatory programs at the high school level. In addition, cuts in funding for public vocational and technical education programs, along with declining participation in the union apprenticeship training, have contributed to the decline of the construction education pipeline. That has meant the number of people choosing careers in construction has dropped while retirements have spiked, producing the current labor shortage.Can you take us through some important findings of the national workforce survey conducted by AGC of America?AGC of America conducted an online survey of contractors in July and August 2017. Out of a record number of 1608 70 percent [of contractors surveyed by AGC this year] said that they are having difficulty filling craft positionsBy Kenneth D. Simonson, Chief Economist, Associated General Contractors of AmericaCXO INSIGHTS
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