Faced with what could be an unprecedented labor shortage as the economy picks up, construction professionals are uniting in a mission to rebuild the pipeline of young workers that once flowed into the industry from vocational and technical education programs across the country.
“Somewhere in recent decades, our country made a collective decision that everyone should attend college. The robust work force and technical education programs that once existed in our high schools disappeared in favor of college-track programs,” says Brian Turmail, executive director of public affairs for the Associated General Contractors of America. “When we lost this opportunity to show students what working in construction is really like and the opportunities out there, we lost our pool of skilled workers as well.”