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AGC MA Maintains Focus on Workforce Development in 2023

Submitted by Associated General Contractors of Massachusetts

Based on local and national industry forecasts, the Associated General Contractors of Massachusetts (AGC MA) and our member companies are predicting a positive outlook for 2023.

Our member firms have strong project backlogs and continue hiring for a wide range of positions across their companies. However, like other industries, the pool of talent available to fill these positions is limited. The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation recently released a report indicating that aging and declining populations in the Commonwealth mean there are more than two jobs for every job seeker.

This is why AGC MA devotes considerable time and resources to our workforce development efforts. In 2021, we launched the Building Advancement Externship (BAE) to build a strategic alliance with educators and academic leaders. This led to continuous engagement from educators to assist students in maximizing their career pathway exploration.

Participating externs came from each of the seven workforce regions across Massachusetts. They worked at both vocational and comprehensive high schools, held a diverse range of roles within education, and represented a diverse student body.

Following the externship, AGC MA and our members maintained engagement with the externs by organizing job site tours and facilitated career panels, internships, and co-op placements. In 2022, AGC MA became an approved professional development provider (PDP) for educator credits by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). That makes AGC MA the only industry association able to provide professional training to educators statewide!

In addition, AGC MA created a new role within the association and hired Marion Jones as director of workforce development & industry inclusion. Jones has become a conduit between our workforce development and diversity initiatives, leading community engagement efforts like adopting the fifth grade classrooms at Mattahunt Elementary School during Construction Inclusion Week, distributing the Robert L. Petrucelli Scholarship micro-grants, and managing ongoing relationships with schools and educators.

Looking to 2023, AGC MA is redeveloping our ACE Mentorship Program at Blackstone Valley and seeking to increase our partnerships across the industry. Already, we are proud supporters of YouthBuild, Building Pathways, Massachusetts Girls in Trades, and many other pre-apprenticeship and workforce groups. We also support AGC Student Chapters at Wentworth, WPI, UMASS Amherst, and Fitchburg State University.

If you are interested in joining our effort or our association, contact Lisa Frisbie at frisbie@agcmass.org. You can find many of our industry events at www.agcmass.org, and our workforce development resource page is www.constructingma.org.

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Here Comes 2023: What’s the Outlook?

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ballot box. In the midterm elections, nearly every ballot question seeking infrastructure funding passed.

In PSMJ Resources’ Quarterly Market Forecast (QMF) survey of proposal activity in the 3rd Quarter, the two leading major markets among 12 surveyed were water/wastewater and transportation. Of the top 10 submarkets (of 58), four were from water/wastewater and three were from transportation.

Energy

Also in the PSMJ QMF survey, Renewable Energy has been the leading submarket throughout 2022. In the third quarter survey, 73% of respondents working in renewables said that proposal activity grew from the second quarter, while only 3% said it declined.

Education

In the PSMJ survey, education lagged along with commercial markets throughout most of 2021 before bouncing back to more-than-respectable levels in 2022. The AIA Consensus survey anticipates a decent growth rate of 5.2% for educational projects in 2023.

Healthcare

The COVID-19 pandemic initially created some uncertainty in the healthcare market, but the interruption was brief. The AIA Consensus forecast projects 5.7% growth for healthcare in 2023, while the PSMJ QMF had it the fourth-strongest major market in the third quarter.

Manufacturing

Growth in manufacturing facilities, potentially bolstered by the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, appears solid in 2023. This follows a year-to-date (through October) in which value of construction put in place grew by 43.3% year-over-year, and 7.6% quarter over quarter.

Public Safety

The AIA projects public safety construction to grow by 5.5% in 2023, with Moody’s Analytics and Dodge Construction Network both calling for a rise of better than 10%.

Richard Friedman is founder and president of Friedman & Partners, a management consultancy to the AEC industry.