Breaking Down Perceptions in the Construction Industry
Date Posted: March 16, 2021
Posted In: Ideas, Workforce,
From Autodesk Construction Cloud: Recruitment is one of the greatest hurdles we face in the industry today. As the New York Times journalist Jason M. Bailey wrote, “With the retirement of baby boomers in full swing, the construction industry is grappling with its biggest challenge: refilling its pool of employees. But it faces significant resistance among younger workers.”
Getting younger generations — particularly women and diverse groups of people — into construction is tough, mainly because there are plenty of long-held (but incorrect) beliefs about the industry. Misconceptions such as construction being unsafe and blue-collar in nature continue to persist.
But the truth is that the construction industry is a multi-dimensional field that offers so many interesting, rewarding, and fulfilling career opportunities.
The first step in getting young and new talent onboard is helping them see that.
The good news? The industry already has many incredible construction professionals who are breaking down misconceptions about what it means to work in construction. In this article, we explore how construction professionals, educators, skilled trade professionals, and innovators are helping to change perspectives of the industry.
Young Professionals
One of the keys to getting young professionals to seriously consider construction as a career is to use non-traditional ways to raise awareness about the construction industry.
Milanka (@milankabee), a 25-year-old geologist who’s now working in construction, offers a great example of how to accomplish this. Milanka posts informal and candid videos about her experiences as a woman working in construction, and she does this through an unexpected channel: TikTok.