Bridging the Skills Gap
Date Posted: June 24, 2021
Posted In: Discussion, Workforce,
From Construction Business Owner: This year is poised to be a year of growth, with the Federal Reserve recently increasing its forecast of the nation’s gross domestic product to 6.5%. With that, the construction industry will likely face challenges around hiring cycles, evolving protocols and a widening skills gap.
Baby boomers in leadership roles, such as superintendent and foreman, are retiring, and the available talent pool for niche skilled trades, such as masonry detailing and woodworking, is both shrinking and aging. In addition, trade schools are facing declining enrollments for new apprentices that can help to pick up the slack.
Any way you look at it, construction firms are dealing with a skills gap for subcontractor talent that will only widen in the coming years. So, how can employers in the construction industry get ahead of the curve and set themselves up for success? Consider the following five recommendations to help bridge the gap.
1. Take a Systematic Approach to Training
As with any widespread issue affecting an industry, it’s often helpful to look at what the largest and most well-resourced firms are doing to tackle the problem. In terms of the niche skilled trades talent gap, national construction firms have begun offering apprenticeships and robust, on-the-job training that’s commensurate with a technical school’s certification process.
The most successful companies find motivated people among their current workforce and train them for needed roles.
One particularly effective approach to maintaining contact with high-demand workers is to require a multiyear commitment for program completion — much like a degree — with reimbursement and certification available at the end.
2. Emphasize Outreach & Education
In addition to a shrinking labor pool, skilled trades also face difficulty at the onset of the talent pipeline. Many early-career candidates come from 4-year college programs in construction management, rather than skilled trade apprenticeship programs, and don’t always understand the growing value of specialized skills.
What can the average construction firm do to address this issue, and become a favorable destination for the next generation of skilled laborers? Go after candidates at the beginning of their career journey, where people are most interested in learning how to build a house or a building, and emphasize how important skilled trades are.