Surveying members of the Construction Personnel Executives Group, FMI, reports that 24% of respondents will be unable to bid more work and 32% will experience slow growth if their companies cannot reasonably meet the need for skilled labor and tradespeople. Top executives at the largest contract firms in the U.S. took part in the survey.
“Overall, there’s an increase needed in skilled trade workers of more than 10% throughout the next three to 10 years,” says Ken Wilson, director for FMI, citing highlights from survey partipants. One large construction company says, "Our current hiring forecast shows a need for 8,500 additional craft workers by 2017.”
The top five positions that are expected to be the most difficult to fill are:
- Operator (heavy equipment)
- Welder (boilermaker)
- Carpenter
- Pipefitter
- Ironworker (reinforcing)
There are two significant contributing factors to the high demand for craft labor:
- The shift of the construction workforce to oil and gas related construction. FMI estimates that by 2017 nearly 10% of the total U.S. construction workforce will be part of this burgeoning segment of the industry.
- The number of survey respondents that plan to increase the amount of work the company self-performs. Currently, surveyed firms self-perform less than 40 percent of construction projects. However, 65 percent either have plans to or are considering plans to increase self-performed projects.
- This in-depth look into recruiting and retention of craft labor includes an analysis of the driving factors behind the skilled labor shortage, the most effective recruitment tactics and how companies are filling the demand for field management of the craft labor force. The report also provides practical counsel on how to develop human resource strategies to improve recruiting and retention rates.
To download a copy of the 2015 survey report, “Craft Labor Recruiting and Retention,” click here.
Related Stories
| May 1, 2012
Bruce E. Brooks Associates announces new commissioning subsidiary
Brooks + Wright Commissioning to be led by Will Wright.
| May 1, 2012
Gilbane to build $100 million cranberries manufacturing facility
Gilbane to provide design build services for a new Lean manufacturing facility for Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc., beverage products.
| May 1, 2012
Construction is underway on MLK ambulatory care center in L.A.
Featuring a variety of sustainable features, the new facility is designed to achieve LEED Gold Certification.
| Apr 30, 2012
Virginia Commonwealth unveils design for Arts Institution
Institute for Contemporary Art will serve as a catalyst for exhibitions, programs, research and collaboration.
| Apr 30, 2012
Summit Design + Build completes build-out for Office Concepts
The project is seeking LEED ID Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.
| Apr 30, 2012
HSA Commercial selected as consultant for Orland Park’s Main Street Triangle project
HSA will be responsible for designing an overall mixed-use merchandise plan, attracting a unique retail tenant mix and completing leases with prospective tenants.
| Apr 30, 2012
Gilbane to manage retrofit of the Fraunhofer CSE R&B structure
Building is a first-of-its-kind research and demonstration building for sustainable technologies in Boston's Innovation District.
| Apr 30, 2012
KBE Building completes renovation at the ConnCAT
The $1.2 million project consisted of a 16,000-sf interior renovation.
| Apr 27, 2012
GreenExpo365.com to offer webinars on EPA’s WaterSense Program
Architects and builders interested in developing water-efficient buildings invited to attend free sessions featuring experts discussing water-efficient building practices.
