Solving the Construction Workforce Challenge

Who is going to step up and help address America's shortage of skilled construction workers?   Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) has worked with legislators in Ohio and all across the nation to get October designated as Careers in Construction Month.  I challenge YOU to join ABC as we work to build our future workforce.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics says we will need 1.6 million new construction workers by 2022. 80% of Associated Builders and Contractors members say there is a shortage of skilled labor, and a 25% of current construction workers are expected to
retire in the next ten years.  

---

ABC is not waiting for someone else to address this challenge and we are starting to make headway in attracting talented people to construction. Nationally, our members invest $1.1 billion annually in training—that’s billion with a B! Collectively our members train over 476,000 construction industry professionals a year.  Locally, our new www.ovcef.org website has direct access to construction career information and a portal for candidates to submit their name – these individuals are made available to members as they come in – we connect people to jobs.  Longer term, we’re proud to be raising scholarship dollars through efforts like www.webuildtheusa.org  and attracting even more young people to careers in construction.

---

We have also made strides in diversity. For example, women now hold 21 percent of management/supervisory positions at ABC member firms, veterans account for 23 percent of trade and craft professionals, and we are partnering with local agencies like the Community Action Agency to help bring more people of color to our job sites. 

I am proud of the commitment of ABC and its members has made to ensure that we continue to attract and retain talented people to meet the nation’s ever-increasing construction needs.   Our work has only just begun and I challenge you to do three things:

1: Recruit a new person to our industry this year
2. Volunteer for a classroom outreach project
3. Help fund a scholarship.  

The challenges facing the construction industry will not solve themselves.