by Sandy Griffis, Executive Director, Yavapai County Contractors Association
Peruse help wanted ads in our newspaper; scan job openings on any job search site, look at the “Hiring” signs on the back of our local construction vehicles and you will find hundreds of companies looking for construction industry workers.
In the second quarter 2018 report, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Commercial Construction Index said nine out of 10 contractors are concerned about the ongoing labor shortage, marking the fourth consecutive quarter that construction companies have expressed apprehension about being able to find enough qualified workers. In addition, 47-percent of contractors surveyed for the report expected their ability to find skilled workers to worsen in the next six months.
Despite labor challenges, contractor confidence is high, with 96 percent reporting they expect the demand for commercial and residential construction services to increase in the next 12 months.
Our local jurisdictional permit stats are an indication of the increase. The City of Prescott for the first six months of 2017 issued 151 single family home permits; the first six months of 2018, 188 single family permits were issued. The Town of Prescott Valley has experienced a similar increase. The first six months of 2017, the Town issued 246 single family permits and the first six months of 2018, 294 single family permits were issued. Chino Valley is also on a growth spurt with 55 single family permits during the first six months of 2017 and 96 single family for the first 6 months of 2018.
I have said this before and I will make this statement again: Do you know that the construction industry is projected to grow 22 percent by 2022 and in some parts of the country wages have increased more than 10 percent since last year? Opportunity is on the doorstep for skilled trades. Locally, many of our construction firms are concerned about finding skilled tradespeople to keep up with demand. With the industry facing an aging workforce; hanging around 45 and up, with an insufficient pipeline of new workers and lost workers who moved on to other industries, with a tidal wave of retirement taking place over the next few years, and along with misperception about careers in the skilled trades, the construction industry labor shortage is going to grow.
The construction industry is a lucrative career, it is rewarding both personally and financially, it is exciting, it is anything but dull, and it is an industry that will never disappear. How do we focus on changing public perception and raising awareness about careers in the skilled trades to open doors to more viable career options for young people graduating high school? YCCA and our members are working hard to close that gap through a combined effort of training and promoting construction as a viable career path. We are striving to build a diverse, job-ready work force equipped with hands-on training and on-the-job experience. Four-year college degrees are not for everyone, but it doesn’t mean there are no other viable options to make a decent living. In fact, some specialized construction careers pay more than six figures, and in the skilled trades, one could start at the entry level and work their way up to owner of the company, all with training comparable to a four-year college degree.
The workforce gap continues to rise – maybe even skyrocket is the right word to use. Finding skilled trade workers is an enormous challenge facing our builders and subcontractors. It’s 2018 and students are burdened by loan debt that is higher than ever. The average student loan debt for the Class of 2017 graduates was $39,400, up 6 percent from 2016.
The other scary statistic is that Americans owe over $1.48 trillion in student loan debt; spread out among about 44 million borrowers, that’s about $620 billion more than the total U.S. credit card debt.
Nightly news stories talk about mounting college debt incurred by recent graduates who cannot find jobs that pay enough to start a life and pay off college loans. Yes, there is a “win-win” that addresses this scenario and that is: College students we have construction jobs for you!
A career in the skilled trades, such as plumbing, carpentry or electrical work, was once viewed as a respected occupation. Today, young people entering the workforce are rarely encouraged by educators, parents and other mentors and influencers to consider a skilled trade’s career path. High school students are pushed into college, regardless of whether it’s appropriate for their personality, learning style, finances or employment goals.
By looking at the building industry as offering lucrative, abundant and fulfilling professions, and by helping young people prepare to step into these jobs, we offer them viable careers that come with flexibility, no college debt and more importantly, long-term sustainability.
