I recently attended the Metal Building Contractors & Erectors Association’s (MBCEA) annual conference. I am always impressed with the in-depth and frank discussions they have over problems like manpower and safety in the industry. The conference provides a forum for attendees to discuss issues and share ideas for solutions.
Improved awareness and clear training will address the labor shortage
This year, as well as the past few years, the hot topic has been manpower and the inability to find any workers, much less well-trained ones. There seems to be an article every day in major newspapers and construction industry publications about the so-called “skilled labor shortage.” Is there such a desperate lack of skilled labor in the nation? Is there a disconnect between skilled labor supply and demand? Or is the problem maybe a little of both?
One of the primary reasons for construction’s skilled labor shortage is the lack of awareness and no organized plan to educate young people on the lucrative opportunities available in construction. Unfortunately, it seems educators do not realize that construction needs the best and brightest just as much as any other profession. The situation is compounded by the idea that anyone who doesn’t have a bachelor’s degree doesn’t deserve a decent wage. It is time to stop telling our young people that their only path to success is a four-year college degree. We need to promote technical training at the middle and high school levels. We need to provide our future workforce with choices and information they need to find well-paying and satisfying careers that fit their interests in construction.
Educators do not realize that construction needs the best and brightest just as much as any other profession.
Time is working against the industry. With the wave of baby boomer retirements, the fact that many experienced construction workers switched careers during the recession, and a young generation is not considering construction as a viable career option, the growth in projects will have us dipping into a shallower pool of skilled labor. It will result in inflated prices and longer construction schedules. The trouble finding skilled labor hurts the bottom line when companies can’t meet growing project demands and deadlines. With the construction industry constituting 6.36 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2017, ongoing labor shortages can have a ripple effect on the U.S. economy, especially with Congress and the President Donald Trump discussing a $2 trillion infrastructure package.
It can take years for a new employee to gain the experience and knowledge to be a safe, productive and competent worker. That is why many contractors turn to apprenticeships to build their workforce. Iron Workers’ union training centers collectively spend between $80 million and $90 million a year to train and upgrade apprentices and journeymen. The return on investment for employers is impressive. Studies from around the globe suggest that for every dollar spent on apprenticeship, employers get an average of $1.47 back in increased productivity, reduced waste and greater front-line innovation.
At the Iron Workers’ union, we recognize that apprentices play an essential role in the growth and development of a safe and highly trained workforce. Our earn-while-you-learn apprenticeship model is already well established. Earn-while-you learn allows ironworkers to make a fair wage with benefits while training to become a journeyman. The three- to four-year Iron Workers’ apprentice program provides 6,000-8,000 hours of on-the-job training and over 700 hours of classroom training. Apprentices are required to work in many facets of the trade during the course of the program to ensure their training is well rounded.
U.S. Department of Labor statistics show that apprenticeships are a proven path to secure careers; almost 90 percent of apprentices are employed after completing their programs with an average post-graduation starting wage around $50,000 per year. This could mean the difference of hundreds of thousands of dollars in one’s financial position because apprentices earn money while being trained rather than paying tuition to attend college.
Once apprentices become journeymen, we encourage them to complete journeymen upgrade training to keep their skills sharp. Just as continuing education credits are necessary for engineers and lawyers, our members need to keep up with the ever-changing technologies available in our industry. On average, nearly 4,000 journeymen are certified in some critical skill each year. The Iron Workers have nearly 80,000 well-trained journeymen and 20,000 apprentices. Our doors are always open as we handle 50,000 applications annually.
The Iron Workers International and our labor -management partner, IMPACT, are excited about the future of ironworking and the metal building industry. We know it takes effort to recruit a high-quality, diverse workforce and them you must give them the best training possible.
If you have any questions or need more information about any of our programs you can contact me at dbeard@iwintl.org or look under the contractor section of impact-net.org.
David Beard is the metal building representative for the Iron Workers International and president of Ironworkers District Council of St. Louis and Vicinity. He spent 24 years working in the field and has been active in the union leadership since 2003.
