Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Who Will Build It?

  • By Deborah P. Moore
  • 09/01/15

There is no question that the construction industry is once again growing— In one year’s time – July 2014 to July 2015 — we saw a 12.7 percent increase in non-residential construction. The change in educational facility construction was not nearly as dramatic, but more money is definitely being spent. In the education segment, we saw a 3.6 percent increase in the value of total construction being put in place (a 7.6 percent increase in private construction and a 2.6 percent increase in public construction). The increase in construction activity is good news. The bad news is that now we are facing a shortage of skilled workers to do the job.

According to an analysis done by the Associated General Contractors of America, “Construction employment in July climbed to the highest level since February 2009, while the number of unemployed workers with construction experience shrank to a 14-year low.” Association officials cautioned that, “the diminishing pool of available qualified labor may be having an impact on the industry’s ability to meet growing demand.”

Many in the construction industry left during the downturn. Others, members of the baby-boom generation, are now retiring. In a July survey, the AGC reported that 86 percent of commercial builders said they’re having trouble filling hourly or salaried positions, up from 83 percent last year.

One effect of this labor shortage is likely to be an increase in the price we pay. Other effects we are likely to see include a decrease in quality and an increase in construction delays. It is a given that job experience and production quality go hand in hand when it comes to skilled workers.

As educators we are in a unique position to help ourselves… by providing adequate training for the next generation of skilled workers. Trade schools provide the basics of the construction profession, with instruction that offers a mixture of hands-on and classroom experiences. Experienced construction workers who want to manage construction sites can continue their education in a college or university offering a degree in construction engineering technology.

This is a challenge, for our institutions and the industry at large, that we are uniquely prepared to meet. Let’s work together to make it happen.

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • University of Kansas Breaks Ground on Entrepreneurship Hub

    The University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kan., recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new KU Entrepreneurship Hub, according to university news. The Hub is part of the university’s School of Business and will include spaces for experiential learning and programming.

  • Designing for Every Mind

    Learning environments have the power to shape not just what students know, but who they become. When a school is designed with genuine empathy—for the full range of ways students think, sense, and engage with the world—it becomes more than a building. It becomes a catalyst for growth, confidence, and belonging. That is the animating idea behind neurodiverse design, and it is one that is transforming how more architects and designers are thinking about school design.

  • Surging Demand for Student Housing Fuels Major Campus Investment Opportunities

    University leaders throughout the U.S. are accelerating plans to modernize and expand student housing as enrollment stabilizes and demand for on-campus living rebounds. Recent data from the National Center for Education Statistics indicates that total postsecondary enrollment is projected to grow through the end of the decade, with undergraduate enrollment alone expected to increase by more than 8 percent by 2030.

  • abstract illustration of school gym

    How the Gymnasium Can Serve as a Model for Learning Space Design

    Multipurpose gyms work because flexibility was built into the brief from the start, not retrofitted later. The same logic applies to academic spaces.