Contractors struggle to find qualified craft workers — report

ConDig (30Aug-17).  Over two thirds of contractors in the US are struggling to find qualified craft workers to fill hourly positions, according to a survey by the Associated General Contractors of America and engineering and construction software maker Autodesk.

A shortage of skilled workers in the construction industry continues to deepen and has become more severe in many parts of the country after years of under-investment in career and technical education programs.

The lack of qualified labor has also been exposed as the residential and non-residential building sectors pick up, which is reportedly leading to delays in some projects as contractors scramble to fill positions.

“In the short-term, fewer firms will be able to bid on construction projects if they are concerned they will not have enough workers to meet demand,” said Stephen Sandherr, chief executive officer for the Associated General Contractors. 

“Over the long-term, either construction firms will find a way to do more with fewer workers or public officials will take steps to encourage more people to pursue careers in construction.”

Of the more than 1,600 survey respondents, 70% said they are having difficulty filling hourly craft positions.

The shortages are the most severe in the West, where 75% of contractors are having a hard time filling those positions, closely followed by the Midwest where 72% face difficulties finding craft workers. In the South 70% are facing shortages and 63% in the Northeast.

Craft workers usually carry out site preparation and cleanup, along with concrete, masonry, steel, wood and pre-cast erection projects.

It comes as the construction sector continues to expand and construction employment rose in 258 out of 358 metro areas that the association tracks between July 2016 and July 2017, according to the association’s analysis of federal construction employment data.

With tight labor market conditions unlikely to ease in the near-term, contractors are trying to change the way they operate, recruit and compensate workers, according to Sandherr. 

Half of construction firms report increasing base pay rates for craft workers because of the difficulty in filling positions, while 20% have improved employee benefits for craft workers and 24% report they are providing incentives and bonuses to attract workers.

The report also found that 46% of firms are doing more in-house training to cope with workforce shortages, while 47% report they are increasing overtime hours and 41% are increasing their use of subcontractors. 

In addition, 22% report they are increasing their use of labor-saving equipment, 11% are using offsite prefabrication and 7% are using virtual construction methods like Building Information Modeling (BIM).