Construction Research Congress 2020
Cyclical Construction Workforce Shortage: An Evaluation of the Current Shortage in Western North Carolina
Publication: Construction Research Congress 2020: Safety, Workforce, and Education
ABSTRACT
The inadequate supply of skilled construction craft workers is an issue that currently affects the performance of the construction industry. The performance of the construction industry has a significant influence on the growth of the national economy as well as citizens’ wellbeing. The challenges associated with the construction industry’s skilled worker shortage are cyclical. The cyclical nature is a result of the fact that the demand for construction in the U.S. depends on the performance of the overall U.S. economy. The current study evaluates the nature of the current shortage in the western region of North Carolina. Accordingly, the study examines the data collected by the Mountain Area Workforce Development Board, employing a survey that targeted construction firms. The authors have analyzed 46 completed surveys that were collected during the fall of 2018. Among other findings, the study reveals that the demand for laborers and licensed journeymen is higher than other construction positions such as supervisors and estimators. Also, the study shows that entry-level positions such as laborers have higher employee turnover rates compared to more experienced positions. The research could help develop a certified career pathway that provides short-term training and work-based learning opportunities for the raw construction workforce.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this chapter.
REFERENCES
ACG (Associated General Contractors of America). (2019). "US Construction Spending, Labor and Materials Outlook." https://www.agc.org/sites/default/files/Files/Communications/Construction%20trends%20%26%20outlook_0_0.pdf (Accessed February 22019)
AGC (Associated General Contractors of America). (2018). "Eighty Percent of Contractors Report Difficulty Finding Qualified Craft Workers to Hire as Association Calls for Measures to Rebuild Workforce." https://www.agc.org/news/2018/08/29/eighty-percent-contractors-report-difficulty-finding-qualified-craft-workers-hire (Accessed February 22019)
Albattah, M. A. (2016). "A Critical Analysis of the Structural Changes Related to Craft Demographics Influencing Craft Supply and Demand in the United States across Multiple Dimensions." PhD Dissertation, University of Colorado at Boulder
Al-Bayati, A., Abudayyeh, O., Fredericks, T., and Butt, S. (2017). “Managing Cultural Diversity 348 at U.S. Construction Sites: Hispanic Workers’ Perspectives.” J. Constr. Eng. manage.
Azeez, M., Gambatese, J., and Hernandez, S. (2019). “What Do Construction Workers Really Want? A Study about Representation, Importance, and Perception of US Construction Occupational Rewards.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage., 145 (7), 04019040.
BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics). (2018a). “Employment by Major Occupational Group.” https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables/emp-by-major-occupational-group.htm. (Accessed February 2, 2019)
BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics). (2018b). “Employment, Hours, and Earnings from the Current Employment Statistics survey (National).” https://data.bls.gov/pdq/SurveyOutputServlet. (Accessed February 2, 2019)
BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics). (2018c). "Unemployment Rate - Construction Industry, Private Wage and Salary Workers." https://www.bls.gov/iag/tgs/iag23.htm#workforce (Accessed February 2, 2019)
BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics). (2018d). "Total US Job Openings - Construction Industry." https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNU04032231?amp%253bdata_tool=XGtable&output_view=datainclude_graphs=true (Accessed February 2, 2019)
Construction Industry Institute (CII). (2015). Is there a Demographic Craft Labor Cliff that will Affect Project Performance? Research Team number RT318, Austin, TX
Construction Users Round Table (CURT). (2004). “Confronting the Skilled Construction Workforce Shortage.” Construction User Roundtable Publications, Ohio, USA
Dickens, R. (2019). “The State of the Construction Industry.” For Construction Pros, https://www.forconstructionpros.com/business/article/21041305/special-report-state-of-the-construction-industry-2019 (Accessed July 4, 2019)
Francis, V., and Prosser, A. (2013). “Career counselors’ perceptions of construction as an occupational choice.” J. Prof. Issues Eng. Educ. Pract.., 59–71.
Karimi, H. (2017). “Quantitative analysis of the impact of craft labor availability on construction project performance.” PhD Dissertation, University of Kentucky
Karimi, H., Taylor, T., and Goodrum, P. (2017). “Analysis of the impact of craft labor availability on North American construction project productivity and schedule performance.” Construction Management and Economics, 35(6), 368-380.
Karimi, H.; Taylor, T., Goodrum, P., and Srinivasan, C. (2016). Quantitative analysis of the impact of craft worker availability on construction project safety performance. Construction Innovation, 16(3), 307-322.
McGraw-Hill Construction. (2012). Construction industry workforce shortages: Role of certification, training and green jobs in filling the gaps. Smart Market Report, Bedford, MA
Minooei, F. (2018). "Towards a Deeper Understanding of the US Workforce Development System in the Construction Industry." PhD Dissertation, The University of Colorado at Boulder
Narehan, H., Hairunnisa, M., Norfadzillah, R. A., and Freziamella, L. (2014). “The effect of quality of work life (QWL) programs on quality of life (QOL) among employees at multinational companies in Malaysia.” Procedia-Soc. Behav. Sci., 112, 24–34.
Shan, Y., Imran, H., Lewis, P., and Zhai, D. (2017). “investigating the Latent Factors of Quality of Work-Life Affecting Construction Craft Worker Job Satisfaction.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage., 143 (5), 04016134.
The Business Round Table (BRT). (1983). More construction for the money.Construction Industry Cost Effectiveness Project, Summary Report, Ohio, USA
USCB (United States Census Bureau). (2019). “Construction Spending: Value of Construction Put in Place at a Glanc.” https://www.census.gov/construction/c30/c30index.html (Accessed July 4, 2019)
Wang, Y., Goodrum, P. M., Haas, C. T., and Glover, R. W. (2008). "Craft training issues in 781 American industrial and commercial construction." J. Constr. Eng. Manage., 782.
Wang, Y., Goodrum, P. M., Haas, C., Glover, R., and Vazari, S. (2010). “Analysis of the benefits and costs of construction craft training in the United States based on expert perceptions and industry data." Constr. Manage. and Econ., 28(12), 1269-1285.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Construction Research Congress 2020: Safety, Workforce, and Education
Pages: 643 - 650
Editors: Mounir El Asmar, Ph.D., Arizona State University, David Grau, Ph.D., Arizona State University, and Pingbo Tang, Ph.D., Arizona State University
ISBN (Online): 978-0-7844-8287-2
Copyright
© 2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Published online: Nov 9, 2020
Published in print: Nov 9, 2020
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.