Surge in Missouri Construction Jobs, Shortage of Missouri Workers
Date Posted: October 3, 2019
Posted In: Workforce,
From MissouriNet: Missouri’s economy is benefitting from an increase in construction jobs, especially to fix roads and bridges thanks to a windfall of federal and state support this year. Between July and August, the state gained 2,300 construction jobs.
But while there’s a surge in opportunities, there’s a shortage of workers in the state to fill these jobs. State transportation director Patrick McKenna and Len Toenjes, president of AGC Missouri Monday announced the growth and opportunities identified in an industry survey.
Their findings show that 80 percent of the state’s contractors are having trouble finding qualified workers. While Toenjes praises the ramped up efforts of the state’s technical colleges, he says his industry suffers from an image problem.
“A lot of people look at a four-year college degree, being a doctor, being a lawyer has a certain persona in today’s society,” Toenjes says. “Our message is construction is a very honorable career, that it’s about more than the money or the stature, while we’re looking at people who come out of a four-year college degree with some sort of huge student debt and some kind of degree that may or may not have any validity in the marketplace.”
Eddie Welsh, chief operating officer of Capital, a Missouri-based construction contractor, says construction is about making money too.
“For kids that are 15, 16 and 17, the more that we can educate them that they can get out of school,” he told Missourinet. “We have a number of employees right now that are 19 and 20 years old making $60,000 to $80,000 a year.” Those wages are above the median income for the state of Missouri, and many of his field employees get the winter off.