I am an SOB, that is a son of a baker. When I was a kid, the workforce in our family bakery consisted of a deaf mute, an alcoholic, my grandfather, my uncle and my dad. Together they produced about 200 loaves of bread for the Amarillo market.
In the 1990s, I was talking with Arthur Baird, one of the family members of Mrs Baird’s bread and he showed me his bakery that was producing 8,000 loaves of bread an hour for the Houston region. He told me that he could not hire anyone who was not computer proficient on his bakery staff since all of the production line is now run by computers.
This was an enormous change in the workforce which has rippled throughout the manufacturing sector in this country, and it is beginning to happen in the construction industry. As we face an increased demand and the building materials become more sophisticated and “greener”, the skilled workforce to build those buildings will be more in demand and, if NCCER, AGC, ABC and the unions are correct, there will be a big shortage in the mid-level skilled workforce. Read more » about Workforce Demands
One thing that I know really frustrates construction industry executives is, all too often, educators don’t emphasize the skilled trades as a legitimate career path. The owner of a masonry company in the Houston area told me he recently featured his business at a high school career day, and he was very disappointed to see parents making sure their kids would steer clear of his booth. This executive shook his head and asked “How am I supposed to find workers when that's the attitude?”
Optimism abounds that the local and national economies are improving. Signs of that recovery are seen in many parts of the Greater Houston area. So while the future demand for construction seems to be on an upswing, finding new and replacement workers to perform the work may prove to be a difficult task.
There is a myth in our culture that all high school graduates must attend college. This is a topic that gets introduced to them in middle school and then pounded into them once they reach high school. This is a problem that needs to be addressed. Schools are not talking to students about the other options that are out there, and this leaves them in the dark over other respectable vocational or employment opportunities. As a society, it is our responsibility along with the schools’ educators to recognize our children's strong and weak points and steer them in the direction that best suits their abilities.
The decline of the way Americans value skilled labor, 
We’ve written about it quite a bit here on Construction Citizen, and 
A great article in a small publication points out that employers around the Great State aren’t just anticipating a labor shortage, they’re already feeling it.
The coming labor shortage 
The fact that more than 12 million Americans are without work while employers simultaneously face a labor shortage has become a fascination for me. Every time I write about it, people ask “How is this even possible?”
Peter Caulfield, a correspondent for the 
