Training, investment, improved messaging Tackling the labor shortage

Training, investment, improved messaging

Strategies to help you tackle the labor shortage

by Vincent Salandro

The Construction Industry Labor Report 2022

from Fixr.com analyzes factors contributing to the labor shortage, the current state of working conditions, and solutions that can help improve recruitment and retention.

The construction labor shortage remains a top issue, with recent research from the Home Builders Institute estimating the construction industry needs to add 740,000 jobs per year through 2024 to keep up with demand. Fixr.com’s Construction Industry Labor Report 2022: Shortages, Earnings, and Conditions analyzes the causes and effects of labor shortages, the state of working conditions, and how the industry can improve to meet demand moving forward. According to Fixr.com, the pandemic-induced Great Resignation and mass retirement of individuals in the baby boomer generation has further put a strain on the labor shortage in the construction sector.

In addition to an aging workforce, working conditions — including long hours, informal training, and “a transactional pay-per-job culture” — remain a disincentive for many workers to stay in the industry long term, according to Fixr.com.

Negative perceptions of the sector are illustrated by the high rate of quits for construction companies. According to the Jobs Opening and Labor Turnover study conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the rate of quits in the construction industry reached a 20-year high of 248,000 in March 2022.

Making it work

To help improve working conditions, construction companies can adopt cultures with performance-based rewards and take steps to provide career-tracking for their workforce, industry experts told Fixr.com. Such changes could help in providing workers with a greater vision for career trajectory, which could result in higher loyalty and less workers exiting the sector.

In the Fixr.com report, several industry figures suggested targeting training and upskilling as priorities to help improve overall worker conditions and create a better overall product.

Additional steps to help retention can be taken by

improving the overall reputation and perception

of the construction industry, according to the Fixr. com report. John Gillett, president of QualityBuilt and founder and CEO of Foresite Technology Solutions, expressed the critical importance of shifting the public narrative toward construction by introducing “the value of a trade career into our education system.”

Exposing students to the opportunities available in construction careers as well as the value that can be delivered can help dispel the negative stigma associated with professions, such as construction jobs, that do not require a college degree.

About the author Vincent Salandro is an associate editor for Builder. He covers products for the Journal of Light Construction and also has stories appearing in other Zonda publications. He earned a B.A. in journalism and a B.S. in economics from American University.

Originally published at builderonline.com and reprinted with permission.