Although demand for new homes has returned, the housing crisis of a decade ago has left some lasting effects in the form of a subcontractor labor shortage. The construction industry lost more than 40 percent of its workforce in the years between 2006 and 2011. And they have not returned. Today there is a moderate to severe construction labor shortage in many parts of the country, and it seems to be getting worse. More than half the nation’s builders, 56 percent, reported a serious shortage in 2016, up from 21 percent in 2012, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).
Delays Due to Subcontractor Labor Shortages
The skilled labor shortage has brought higher pay for trained workers in some locales and boosted subcontractor contract amounts: beneficial results. However, the opposite side of the coin is that the dearth of subcontractors causes construction delays, longer home building delivery times and higher costs. The not-so-beneficial result: 28 percent of builders nationwide currently report that some projects are unprofitable; another 28 percent say that they have been forced to turn down some jobs.
Meanwhile, demand for housing continues to grow. And it’s time to address the crisis in new ways. But how?
Looking to the Future
While the most severe shortages exist with framing and carpentry trades, the problem is industry-wide, say the analysts. Most agree that the solution is threefold: The construction industry must attract new workers, train them properly and streamline the process of building.
1. Career and Educational Training Programs
While the traditional apprenticeship structure of the crafts and trades is no longer the established norm, it is encouraging to see new career training programs in high schools and community colleges. Getting the kids excited through hands-on instruction is one key to rebuilding the construction work force. The resurgence of vocational training promises not only higher wages for trained workers, but almost guarantees steady employment immediately after graduation.
The building industry itself can be a catalyst for change in that regard, according to John Courson, president and CEO of the NAHB-affiliated Home Builders Institute. The key is to acknowledge that not every young person needs to go to college to succeed, he notes. “The building industry is a great place to get started in the working world with a good-paying job in an honorable profession that has a path to advancement. We need to tell that story.” By supporting local educational curricula, offering internships, expanding on-the-job training efforts, and even offering financial support to innovative local efforts, builders help to grow the future work force.
2. Embracing Technology
New employees, however, led by Millennials, are looking for opportunities to advance and ways to make a difference. The path to advancement must be as clear to journeymen electricians and beginning framers as it is to young foremen, estimators, schedulers and aspiring business owners. A new generation of entrepreneurs is waiting in the wings to move the home building industry into the next decade, and beyond.
Technology plays a large part in the future as well. And the future of home building is all about streamlining, refining the process of how builders work with subcontractors and making each step more efficient. Aterra has taken those first steps by providing production home builders the means to simplify and improve their electrical plans. By creating a path for effective interaction through new computer technology, the builder, buyer and subcontractor all achieve more timely and cost-effective and efficient results.
We are committed to the future of home building and helping builders fill the subcontractor labor shortage. We agree that the building industry is an honorable profession. We are helping to tell that story.