Building Construction’s Future: How the Industry Is Working to End the Labor Shortage

You read a lot about construction’s labor shortage and ways that the industry is trying to get around it. Although new approaches like automation and modular construction can decrease the numbers needed for a particular project, eliminating jobs isn’t sufficient. In order to survive the thousands of professionals who retire from construction each year, the industry needs plenty of skilled tradespeople ready to replace them. Here’s how the industry, with help from local governments, is trying to ensure this happens.

Education Programs
Whenever you read anything about the labor shortage, you may see an emphasis in skilled workers. After all, if you need an electrician or someone who can fix an elevator, you can’t just grab the first person who walks by. After decades of demeaning skilled trades as beneath the hallowed halls of academia, colleges are realizing that they need these programs more than ever. States like Illinois are investing millions of dollars into training and apprenticeship programs that will help interested people develop the skills and experience they need to meet the demand. Here in California, colleges pursue grant money to help them create certificate and non-certificate programs to get students involved.

Improved Working Conditions
When millions of people in construction lost their jobs with the housing crisis, the professionals who remained were left with a particularly complicated situation. Once housing and urban development began to rise again, they needed a lot of skilled workers in a big hurry. They’re still working on this. The industry has been in a period of rapid growth for nearly a decade and it’s so far behind.

By this point, the problem is not so much that people left the industry to do other jobs. It’s that a diminishing pool of new workers came to replace them. Employers are starting to seriously rethink what they need to do to get people to start in the industry in the first place. This means higher pay, better benefits, safer working conditions and a higher degree of predictability in employment.

Expansion of Modular Construction
Modular construction is one way that construction business owners have found can streamline the jobs they have into something that Millennials and Generation Z actually want to consider. Let’s face it: There are parts of California that are a positive delight year-round, but there are also plenty of places that are simply nasty in winter, summer or both. Modular construction has the benefit that so much of the work is completed offsite, in controlled settings. This allows employees to keep a schedule that works better for them, in a place not governed by weather and daylight, possibly closer to home. The use of technology to get work done faster is an added bonus.

Changes to Zoning Regulations
The thing about urban sprawl is that it affects where people live, as well as their jobs. Jobs in construction still operate mostly from the site, which means that distance plays a factor. If you knew that you would have to commute 100 miles each way to do your job, you might consider a different industry. And if you don’t live anywhere near the places where contracting businesses are thriving, you’ll either have to move or find a way to commute. As a way to combat this, cities are looking at their existing zoning regulations and trying to find ways to make different methods work. Flexibility opens up more options for housing, which can positively improve the choices you have for where you live and work.

The construction labor shortage is likely to continue for several years to come. This means that if you get into the industry now, you’ll have a lot of opportunities to grow. To get started, contact CSLS today!

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About CSLS

Contractors State License Service (CSLS) is the largest school in California devoted to the Construction professional. For over 23 years, CSLS has helped its students pass the exam to become licensed contractors in the State of California, licensing more students than any other school. From our main offices in Southern California, CSLS operates over 25 locations with full-service support and classrooms. We have grown to this extent by providing quality, professional services. In comparison, this provides 7 times the number of convenient locations than the second largest contractor school. Contractors State License Services is one of the only contractor schools in the state that is run by educators, not lawyers or people mostly interested in the bonding and insurance business. Contractors State License Services formerly operated under the oversight of the State of California's Bureau for Private Post Secondary and Vocational Education. As of January 1 2010, the new Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE) came into existence replacing the BPPVE. CSLS now operates under the provisions of the California Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009 (CPPEA), Article 4 Section 94874(f). Our Mission is simple; We can help you pass your California Contractors License Exam. Celebrating our 25th year, CSLS has helped over 120,000 students pass the California contractor licensing exam to become licensed contractors in the State of California. Additionally, we offer complete home study and online contractor’s license programs to help you pass your California contractors license exam. CSLS offers licensing classes for all types of contractor licenses, including General Engineering Contractor, General Building Contractor, Specialty Contractor, Insulation and Acoustical Contractor, Framing and Rough Carpentry Contractor, Cabinet, Millwork and Finish Carpentry Contractor, Concrete Contractor, Drywall Contractor, Electrical Contractor, Elevator Contractor, Landscaping Contractor, Warm-Air Heating, Ventilating and Air-Conditioning Contractor, and many others. For a complete list of contractor licenses, visit www.MakeMeAContractor.com and tuned for more informative posts.