Last Friday marked a momentous occasion for our country, as a group of craft professionals bolted the spire for the new World Trade Center into place 1,776 feet above the ground in New York City.  This incredibly emotional moment meant a great deal to many Americans, and provided an opportunity to remember those who were lost in the tragic events of September 11, 2001.

Matt Lauer and Savannah Guthrie from the NBC Today Show share the moment in this short video:   Read more » about Craft Professionals Share in Historic Moment

A recent blog in the New York Times is only one indicator that the last five years have been totally devastating on the skilled workforce in this country. The unwritten, but widely known, 20% plus unemployment in the construction sector is only the preface to what is to come.

Many construction companies were not able to retain their skilled workers when the recession hit and construction stopped on a dime. Many of those workers moved from the east coast to more active markets in order to survive. A number of them took oil field jobs from Montana down to Texas where they could make a living for themselves and their families.

Now that both the residential and commercial construction sectors are recovering, many firms are finding that their skilled workers have disappeared. The article in the New York Times also points out that even though construction has begun to recover, salaries are stuck at recession levels, further contributing to recruiting and hiring difficulties in their markets. Read more » about Here Comes the Skilled Construction Worker Shortage

Last month some high school students attended a drywall installation clinic at Pasadena ISD’s L.P. Card Career and Technical Center led by a team from the Houston division of Marek Brothers Systems.  The team from Marek – which included Saied Alavi, Terry Holcombe, Dave McMillan, Buddy Britt, and Aurelio Flores – gave a classroom presentation to the 2 dozen students in Pasadena, Texas before leading them in a hands-on workshop where they shared their experience and crafts knowledge with the students.

Saied Alavi began with an introduction, giving a little background information about Marek Brothers Systems.  He talked about the opportunities individuals coming out of high school can find at Marek, and the wage level and potential for career growth they could expect.  He explained how those who stay with the company have opportunities to move up to become a supervisor, a foreman, or even a superintendent – it is up to each individual how far he or she can move up the company career ladder.  He stated: “We don’t choose anyone by their height, by their size, by the color of their hair – it’s all based on your work.  It’s an open race.  Just as in track and field, when everybody lines up, it all depends on who runs the fastest.  In Real Life it is the same way.   Read more » about High School Trade School Partners with Contractor to Secure Future Workforce [VIDEO]

All human beings, by nature, have a desire to know.

So, in the grand scheme of things, does holding a college degree really matter for a prosperous career? How about a willingness to learn a skilled craft or trade in the construction industry?

A recent New York Times article entitled “It Takes a B.A. to Find a Job as a File Clerk” identifies an employment trend stating a college degree is the new minimum requirement for getting even the lowest-level white collar jobs, which do not require college-level skills.

According to the article, economists have referred to this phenomenon as “degree inflation,” and it has been steadily infiltrating America’s job market. Across industries and geographic areas, many other jobs that didn’t used to require a diploma — positions like dental hygienists, cargo agents, clerks and claims adjusters — are increasingly requiring one, according to Burning Glass, a company that analyzes job ads from more than 20,000 online sources, including major job boards and small- to midsize-employer sites.

The author states “up-credentialing” is pushing the less educated even further down the food chain, explaining why the unemployment rate for workers with no more than a high school diploma is more than twice that for workers with a bachelor’s degree: 8.1 percent versus 3.7 percent. Yet, the U.S. is facing a skilled workforce shortage in construction and there are many jobs available for those with high school degrees who are willing to work. Read more » about It Takes a College Diploma to be a Millionaire?

According to MSN Careerbuilder, skilled workforce shortages are impacting employers across the globe as the world economy improves.

The latest Career Builder Survey was taken by employers in the ten largest economies in the world and the results are clear: “When asked which positions were the hardest to fill, employers cited technical fields -- information technology and engineering -- as being some of the most difficult. Other areas included sales, customer service, research and development, production, creative/design and marketing.”

This infographic illustrates the findings of the survey and points to the issue that we have been blogging about for the last two years. There is a skill set mismatch in our industry Read more » about Global Skilled Workforce Shortage

Youth are vital to the construction industry.  Today’s high school students represent the pool of workers from which the construction industry will recruit its future work force.  Northside Independent School District (NISD) understands this and is hosting its first annual Construction Career Day next week on March 20.

The event will be held at Warren High School’s Construction Careers Academy in San Antonio, Texas.  Teachers from NISD high schools have selected 350 students who have shown interest in pursuing careers in construction.  The students will be introduced to many of the rewarding and diverse careers in the industry, and will have the opportunity to speak with potential employers about what working in the industry is like and how it could impact their career paths and futures.  Students will visit booths representing various professions in construction, watch trade demonstrations, and see how different types of equipment are used.   Read more » about High School Students to Attend Construction Career Day

Construction careers have received their fair share of bad press over the years.  As a result, it is not uncommon for today’s student to come away from the classroom or the counselor’s office thinking that the only way to earn a good living is by getting a bachelor’s degree.  Parents want their children to have it better than they do, and conventional wisdom is that a college degree is the one and only path to a successful and financially stable career.

However, even in today’s highly competitive job market, the reality may surprise you.  The Harvard Graduate School of Education’s landmark report, Pathways to Prosperity, found that “27% of people with post-secondary licenses or certificates – credentials short of an associate’s degree – earn more than the average bachelor’s degree recipient.”   Read more » about Construction Careers: More than One Path to Success

Morgan Brennan of the Forbes staff penned a great piece recently that “states the obvious” to folks in the construction industry - There will be Labor shortages!  She quotes some very credible sources to indicate the current state of the industry and the rising need for skilled labor in both the residential and non-residential sectors as the economy begins to recover.

Here in Houston for example, the economy is recovering at a rapid pace. Within a mile of my office, there are currently over 1,000 multifamily units under construction. Last weekend, I toured a single family home that had been listed only 3 days earlier. I was told by the listing agent that they had had 105 visits and 4 contracts already Read more » about Looming Construction Labor Shortages

The Houston Chapter of the American Subcontractor Association (ASA) recently hosted a luncheon panel that focused on the progress of the Construction Career Collaborative (C3), a local organization created to ensure a sustainable workforce for the construction industry. C3 is in its infancy, but has already made an impact on projects in the Houston region. This panel discussion gave an overview of the issues, the progress being made today and the plans for the future.

The panel consisted of Jim Stevenson, the President of McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. in Houston and the current chairman of the C3 Executive Committee; Peter Dawson, the Senior Vice President of Facilities Services at Texas Children’s Hospital and the owner’s representative for one of the C3 pilot projects under construction today; John Roberts, the Executive Vice President of Project and Development Services for Jones Lang LaSalle and member of the C3 Executive Committee; and Danny Thompson, Construction Director of Vaughn Construction and contractor on one of the five C3 pilot projects. Read more » about Subcontractors Hear C3 Update

According to an article in the Washington Post, the uptick in the economy has many highly skilled workers looking for better jobs. These workers may have been frozen in place during the last 4 years when jobs were limited and just having a job was primary, but now with the improvement in the job market, many employers are finding themselves with more voluntary turnover. That means either their key employees are being wooed away or their workers are feeling more confident in their future and are venturing out into the marketplace.

The article states: 

“Experts say the increased interest in jumping ship is driven by a variety of factors, most of which seem to reflect a workforce that has grown weary of the corporate belt-tightening that was commonplace during the recession.

  Read more » about Skilled Workers Begin to Move to Better Jobs