KBB sat in on a recent webinar on this pressing topic of the skilled labor shortage, which is a bigger crisis than the supply-chain issues and product price increases we have been dealing with of late. And what’s more worrisome is that the labor shortage isn’t something that will go away when things settle down post-pandemic. In fact, as it has negatively affected so many things, COVID has made things worse for our industry because during the shutdowns and changes in the way we were living our lives, skilled workers were retiring earlier than they planned to.
The webinar, hosted by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), addressed how our industry is trying to solve the skilled labor shortage, and the speakers included Ed Brady, president and CEO of the Home Builders Institute (HBI); Chassity Vega, CEO, Greater Orlando Builders Association (GOBA); Renee Zentz, CEO, Housing & Building Association of Colorado Springs (CSHBA); Astrid Mangan, principal, Marten Advisory Group; and Karen Schroeder, NAHB Professional Women in Building chair and vice president of Mayberry Homes.
The Struggle Is Real, but Hope Is on the Horizon
Brady cited a recent figure of some 357,000 open jobs in the construction industry, and he says it is important to recruit from all different populations, including females, veterans and people of color.
“The skilled labor shortages are all over the board from carpenters to HVAC, electric and plumbing workers,” he added. “All our members are experiencing them, which causes project delays and rises in costs for things like framing. We need to invest more in our workforce.”
HBI’s main goal is to be an educational resource for the skilled trades in the residential construction industry. According to Brady, when they complete the program, they have the credentials necessary to obtain a job in our industry. HBI offers such things as pre-apprenticeship training, job-placement services, mentoring and online learning to younger generations, veterans, displaced workers, etc. Its Pre-Apprenticeship Certificate Training (PACT) Program was designed by its members as subject-matter experts in the trades, is based on the NAHB’s Green Building and National Skills standards and is one of three of these types of curricula recognized by the Department of Labor. HBI also recently acquired the Future Builders of America and has created after-school programs so students can build an actual house with plans to take the initiative nationwide.
“HBI offers community programs and trains in places like prisons and detention centers,” said Brady. “We also train in 10 military bases throughout the country and offer a licensing program in secondary schools and community colleges. Out of the 200 high schools we visit around the country, there is a percentage of students who are not interested in a four-year college program.”
Keeping Our Eye on the Prize
“We are up against the hospitality, food & beverage and tourist markets for sure,” said Vega. “And although there is some interest in plumbing, electrical, HVAC and carpentry, what about the installers and finishers?”
According to Vega, workforce development is the main goal of GOBA’s new president and its new committee of industry heavy hitters. Their aim is not to recreate something in their region that is already being done but rather to join forces with those other groups like HBI and iBuild to collaborate.
“We are creating that awareness aspect through billboards, flyers and visiting schools,” she added. “We really need to tap into the parents, which is where it all starts.”
Her association’s website identifies salaries of those working in the skilled trades, gauges the general interest in that type of career and provides timelines of what a particular employee may make moving forward.
According to Zentz, our industry has never participated in building its own workforce, so her association – CSHBA – is starting in the schools so that some 1,400 students in 24 schools learn about the built environment every day and also receive help with things like resume building. CSHBA partners with realtors and lumber associations to help fund their programs.
From a builder’s perspective, Schroeder says her business is in close contact with an intermediate school district in the area. The students build a house every semester on site and are taught the trades, as well as participate in mock job interviews.
How can the rest of the industry help solve the skilled labor shortage? Mangan suggests engaging in various public relations campaigns, joining these kinds of organizations where this is the main goal and sending a proclamation to your mayor or even your governor.
It is institutions like those on the panel and the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) that are leading the charge in solving our industry’s greatest challenge, but they need a lot of us to become a lot more involved in helping them reach their goals. According to Brady, the best thing we do can is to get involved with builders and subcontractors at the local level – especially through our home builder’s associations – to raise the issue and support skilled trades through various training programs.
For even more information on this pressing topic, the NKBA is hosting a Brave New Business session called “New Ways to Build the Workforce” on Thursday, July 29 at 2 p.m. ET. Click here to register.
-By Chelsie Butler
-Photo courtesy of Kzenon/Adobe Stock
