Companies that manufacture, sell, repair and use construction cranes complain that qualified workers, such as welders, machinists, maintenance technicians and operators, remain extremely difficult to locate even as U.S. construction and manufacturing joblessness remain high.
"The skill sets are not what they were in the past," said Chuck Martz, president and CEO of Link-Belt Construction Equipment Co., citing one of the manufacturer's crane models that contains 16 on-board computers. "There are a lot of kids out there who are great with computers, but they don't necessarily have the mechanical side, nor is our educational system directing them toward that side."