How many of you are currently experiencing a difficult time hiring quality help? The unemployment rate is still historically high, but if you run a construction contracting firm, you’d never know it. Many of the trade contractors I’ve spoken with can’t hire people who want to work. There are plenty of people who apply for the jobs available, but when they are hired, few will actually give you a good day’s work.
In the foundation business, which is very hard, dirty work, two out of three new hires may not show up for work the next day. The one that does may quit before the week ends. If he does make it a week, there is a very good chance you’ll be forced to let him go, because he really doesn’t want to work and does as little as possible.
Several things have caused this shortage. We’ve all experienced the recent 5-7 year housing recession; the longest and most severe in any of our lifetimes. During that period of time workers were forced out of the construction industry in huge numbers. There simply were no jobs to be had in many areas.
A typical recession lasts one or two years, and people leave their respective industries to seek other employment. When the work in their field returns, most will return to a job similar to the one they were forced to leave. But when your profession evaporates for five plus years, large majorities of the people affected are forced to find permanent employment elsewhere.
Construction jobs are not considered good career choices. Forty years ago there was an abundance of young people eager to learn a construction trade or just start out as a general laborer. At that time, construction jobs were sought after, and considered by most people to be good, stable career choices. Construction workers in general and skilled tradesmen in particular, were highly paid compared to most of the population; including factory workers, teachers, office workers, etc.
Twenty-five to thirty years ago several things started to change:
- We as a country gradually are no longer an agricultural society. Years ago, young people that had grown up working on the family farm or on the neighbor’s farm were taught how to work hard at an early age. Baling hay, for instance, is a physically demanding and dirty job. Construction work was a natural progression for those who decided to leave farming. When was the last time you had a farm kid apply for a job? Most farms now are large corporate endeavors with zero kids working there.
- With the advent of cable TV, the internet, and multiple gaming devices there are fewer reasons for kids to go outside and play. For a few years I lived in a subdivision that, by all appearances, was devoid of children. Then one day I happen to be going home just as the school bus was dropping off dozens of kids. They milled around talking to each other for a little while, and then went to their respective homes for the rest of the afternoon. You would never know children lived there because they sure didn’t play outside. Let’s face it. If you’ve grown up on a PlayStation or a Nintendo you probably aren’t going to be the construction worker type.
- A few short decades ago, a college degree wasn’t considered a requirement to being successful. Working with your hands wasn’t looked down upon by society. High school graduates, who in years past would have loved to work on construction, now look down their noses at those same jobs. High School students now believe the only way to be successful is to have a college degree.
Is college a necessity for everyone? Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with a college education. But is it really necessary for everyone to go to college? Currently 50 percent of college graduates can’t get a job commensurable with their education, and yet most wouldn’t think of taking a construction job. Young people going to school used to want a summer job. Not any more. Wouldn’t an apprenticeship or trade school serve many students better?
The temporary fix. For at least two decades, the construction industry has been forced to partially make up for this shortage by hiring tens of thousands of illegal immigrants. Right or wrong, it’s a fact. Many of those immigrants have either left the country or found other careers.
At the same time, many strict new immigration policies have been instituted, requiring, among other things, that all workers be E-verified through the federal government. In certain states, illegal immigrants can be arrested when discovered during routine traffic stops. Some local municipalities have made laws requiring landlords to verify documentation prior to renting to anyone.
Additionally, some of these new laws have had the unintended consequence of chasing away immigrants who have the proper paper work; because the perceived notion—justified or not—is that they will be harassed by law enforcement and possibly end up in a jail cell somewhere.
How do we solve the problem? It’s not practical to think that we will return to an agricultural society or that our young people will stop playing video games for hours each day. But we can encourage vocational training in high schools. Home Building Associations and other construction organizations could actively promote working in the building trades as a viable career.
I’m all for closing the border to stop illegal immigration. But I’m also for legal immigration and/or guest worker programs. Everyone talks about relaxing immigration standards, but only for highly skilled individuals such as doctors, engineers, etc. We also need people who are willing to do the jobs most American citizens no longer want to do at almost any wage; like construction, landscaping, washing dishes, and picking crops. Currently, it’s extremely difficult for non-college educated workers to immigrate to the U.S. legally. And almost impossible to become legal once they have come here illegally.
In light of these changes, our company is making every effort to mechanize everything we can think of. The more we can do with a machine the less we need to rely on help that we can’t get. But homes still have to be built by people, not machines.
This article was originally published in the January 2013 edition of Concrete Homes + Low-Rise Construction magazine. Barry and Doug Herbert are regular contributors to this important trade publication.