Help wanted as building projects boom

I have always argued that “the flight of quality” would take place within the construction industry from the start of this seemingly never ending economic recession.  If we could not find sustaining, predictable employment for all of those workers that we had mobilized and trained over the years, they would flee the industry in search of a better way to support themselves and their families.  As the work in the pipeline was completed and the backlogs evaporated, so many of our skilled, qualified, educated and trained workers left the construction industry and moved on to more stable employment. While many earned significantly less in wages and benefits, the risk and loss in wages was worthwhile considering that predictable, stable employment was a reality that they had not experienced for many years. 

During this time of “flight”, many building traded unions encouraged their members to work in any position that they could find, including for non signatory employers.  Now, with a slight uptick in overall construction starting to take hold, the call for workers has gone out; unfortunately, in many cases, it remains unanswered.  Many are not returning to their old signatory employers as they now enjoy a steady, predictable stream of income.  And with that loss of these valuable human resources, goes countless time and dollars spent in training, safety and experience. 

Given that many trade apprenticeship programs have accepted in and graduated far less Journeyman than ever before, the supply side of the system simply cannot support the demand side’s call for more capacity.  On the residential side, a far more complex issue exists.  As the flight of quality from the industry took place, many more have left and have not returned.  This is compounded further as immigration related issues have also picked-up causing some to evein flee the country.  More importantly, there are no significant, capacity building training programs in place for the residential industry that can quickly produce and mobilize what the supply side is calling for.  With the economy finally starting to grow and much of that growth hinged to the construction industry, what happens when the housing supply cannot be met?  From here we can venture into economic theory and I will save that for another day.  However, here is an excellent article discussing the challenges of the industry are below.

Help wanted as building projects boom

Iowa's construction work is rebounding, but companies are struggling to find enough skilled laborers to meet the growing demand

During the recession, Jack DeLeon Jr. looked at moving to North Dakota to build homes for some of the thousands of oil workers flocking to the Williston Basin for jobs.

But the shortage of homes included space for the builders constructing them. “At the end of the day, you still have to have some place to park your body,” said the Des Moines home­builder.

DeLeon decided to remain in Iowa and tough out one of the worst building recessions in history. But many builders moved on — going into manufacturing, moving to other states like North Dakota, and retraining for jobs in new industries. Now, builders say they’re beginning to see shortages that they say will likely only grow as big projects ramp up.  Read more here…