Metal Construction News, January 2021

A New Workforce Development Coalition By Tim Seyler President Metal Building Institute Also keep in mind that population growth in the U S has been slowing A primary reason has been fewer immigrant arrivals whether legal or not Foreign students and foreign temporary workers are major sources of rental living space demand They are no longer providing the same degree of reliable underpinning that landlords previously counted on Source of actuals U S Census Bureau Forcasts ConstructConnect Chart ConstructConnect CanaData Gray Tones with Flashes of Brightness in Nonresidential Markets The nonresidential construction picture features gray tones but with occasional flashes of brightness The Census Bureaus put in pace construction spending numbers have been receiving notable support from projects initiated a year ago According to ConstructConnect 2019 included the greatest number of mega project start ups of a billion dollars or more each in recent memory There were 35 such projects adding to 79 billion in 2019 compared with 20 in 2018 for 47 billion and 25 in 2017 for 55 billion Many of 2019 s mega projects were super big energy undertakings such as pipelines petrochemical plants and LNG export terminals Several factors are currently working to inhibit energy mega project approvals Theres the inherent risk in authorizing such big jobs while a pandemic is still raging Also a changing of the guard is underway in Washington that will see a priority shift towards green initiatives and sustainability Electric power projects utilizing wind solar and geothermal technology will be welcomed Plus a next wave of environmental activism will be targeting the production of non decomposable plastics Finally there are the weak global prices for oil and natural gas which are acting to curb related investment enthusiasm Transportation Project Outlook Prior to the coronavirus landing on Americas shores there were long lists of transportation projects on the drawing boards Nearly every major city was boasting of light rapid transit work and expansions at their international airports With travel worldwide down so drastically and commuter volumes so curtailed many of these projects are likely to be postponed Currently construction firms across the country report challenges with filling job openings in all aspects of their businesses Workforce shortages remain one of the single most significant threats to the construction industry Stephen E Sandherr Associated General Contractors CEO recently said in a statement According to the U S Bureau of Labor Statistics BLS there were about 300000 vacancies in the construction industry as of June 2020 The industry is expected to need 747000 more employees by 2026 That is a 66 increase over the current 11 million people employed in the industry for an average annual growth rate of about 10 Achieving that objective is not likely considering that BLS also reports that total U S employment is projected to grow only 04 annually through the decade 2019 to 2029 That is in comparison to the 13 annual growth rate experienced from 2009 to 2019 This reduction in the labor force growth rate is due in part to an aging population and slower population growth among Latinos trends which are not reversible The possibility that industry may fall far short of increasing its workforce at 10 annually is real The construction industry is working aggressively to attract a broader demographic to populate and fill this need To accomplish this we need to change old paradigms that have driven younger generations away from construction and toward other careers The construction industry has long had a reputation as the last resort for employment for many This has persisted even though there is a wide range of career opportunities A recent United Kingdom poll discovered that 35 of career advisors would not recommend the industry to a young person planning their future Here in the U S our own social culture has long promoted to high school graduates that a college degree was the best path to a successful career These well meaning efforts have guided an enormous pool of potential candidates for construction careers into ill fated academic environments Currently the unemployment rate for young college graduates exceeds that of the general population In addition about 41 of recent college graduates and 338 of all college graduates are underemployed They are working in jobs that dont require a college degree according to new data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York In addition to not working in an occupation for which they have spent years studying they begin their careers burdened with debt Forbes magazine reports that the latest student loan debt statistics for 2020 show how serious the student loan debt crisis has become for borrowers across all demographics and age groups In the U S 45 million borrowers collectively owe nearly 16 trillion in student loan debt Student loan debt is now the second highest consumer debt category behind only mortgage debt and higher than both credit cards and auto loans The average student loan debt for members of the class of 2018 is 29200 a 2 increase from the prior year according to the Institute for College Access and Success If 338 of graduates are underemployed that means its likely that 338 of these students are paying debt by working in a trade or occupation that was not their course of study A recent report by U S News World Report explains why it is not necessary to have a college degree to hit the job market College is not for everyone but skipping out on a degree does not mean missing out on a high paying job U S News lists the best jobs without a college degree and includes careers for those with a high school diploma or associate degree Some jobs that do not require a degree call for apprenticeship training or certificate completion before getting started Others may require you to dive right in and learn on the job These are the criteria which precisely describe many construction careers A search on the U S News website for the 10 highest paying jobs without a college degree produce a result in which five of the 10 are in construction January 2021 METAL CONSTRUCTION NEWS 21 www metalconstruct ionnews com